


Breaking Free

by morganaDW (morgana07)



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Angsty Schmoop, Bottom Jared, Bottom Jared Padalecki, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, First Time, Ghosts, Happy Ending, Hurt Jared, Hurt Jared Padalecki, Hurt/Comfort, Innocent Jared, Jensen does get bruised up some, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other: See Story Notes, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Protective Jensen, Some Humor, Tags May Change, Tissue Warning, Top Jensen, Top Jensen Ackles, Triggers, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-09 22:18:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 82,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4366322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morgana07/pseuds/morganaDW
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jensen Ackles is a psychologist who breaks free of his old life to hunt ghosts in a small New England town. When he finds out that his new home is actually haunted by the cursed spirit of a young Puritan man he becomes determined to help free him from the torment and pain that has kept him trapped.</p><p>Jared Padalecki has long since given up hope of ever being freed from the curse that’s held him prisoner for over 300 years. He lives in fear of the old evil that originally cursed and abused him and knows there’s no hope or freedom for him.</p><p>When Jensen’s arrival starts an unexpected chain of events that brings hope back to Jared, he also begins to learn more about himself and the lies and guilt he was told three centuries earlier that makes him long for a life that he was never allowed to have.</p><p>As the pair struggle to break the curse they will soon discover that it’s not only the power of the evil witch that still seeks to hold Jared captive they’ll have to face and overcome but feelings that Jensen wasn’t expecting and Jared doesn’t fully understand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Explicit language, some descriptive violence mostly in the past tense but some takes place in the present. Mentions of past abuse and non-con situation so it will carry a trigger warning. I'll try to update warnings/tags as needed.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but the brain who comes up with the plot.
> 
> Beta'd By: Cappy712 and lotrspnfangirl
> 
> Author Note: First let me say that writing a character as a ghost is not as easy as one might think but I think it comes out well. This is one of the weirder plots the muse decided to take on but the story is complete and is just in beta processing now. I don't know if I'll post once a week or twice a week yet. We'll see but there will be regular updates since there's only 12 chapters to this one (no more 49 chapter stories for a while, lol). Thanks and I hope you enjoy this one.

**Breaking Free**

**Chapter One**

** Porterville, Massachusetts: 1696 **

“You think dying will let you escape me? You think dying, in the mud like the dog you are, will give you peace? There will never be peace for abominations such as you, whelp! You will never find that white light or see the whore that birthed you in His Gardens, because she was evil such as you and will burn in Hell’s fire; but you won’t even have that waiting for you now.

“I curse you and this very land. Your physical body might escape the torments laved on you during your servitude but your tainted soul shall never know peace; until my curse and the spell I cast with it are broken, you will be damned to this soil.  Damned to wander it in everlasting sorrow and suffering until the curse is broken. Neither you nor this house will ever know peace, sinner! Take your last breath now and die as you have lived: a sinful abomination in His eyes. But know this, you will never escape me and I will have you and what you’ve yet to love again. You are mine, boy! You wear my mark and I will claim you again!”

** Porterville, Massachusetts: 2015:  **

Time had long lost any meaning to Jared Padalecki. He had been forced to face the curse laid on him at death, as well as the spells laid on the land around him that would keep him trapped and helpless many times in the years since fluids had filled his weak-from-consumption lungs caused by too many cold, wet nights in the barn that not only was his prison in life but also in death.

He’d once hoped and prayed to a God his Mother had taught him to believe in that despite the cruelty and evilness inflicted on his family, he could escape the pain he’d endured the last two years of his life with death… only the damn evil man’s promise to not let him go, even unto death, proved true.

Now 319 years have passed and Jared was still as lost as he had been when he’d been alive; at least in this form there was a limit to the pain and shame he could suffer.

He’d been 19 when his family moved away from Salem after the horrid dealings of the so-called Witch Trials. Jared hadn’t understood all the hysteria caused by the lies and stories of some bored girls looking for attention. He only knew his mother feared every knock on the door because, while no one in his family practiced witchcraft, they had enemies in the village and therefore could certainly be labeled as such.

When the Trials were finally ended, many survivors had decided to start fresh, including Jared’s own family. The Padalecki’s weren’t as rich as some were who moved to the newly created town of Porterville, but they were close.

His father was a physician who had studied in Europe and had brought many not-so-Puritan beliefs back with him.  Such as the fact he insisted all of his four children, his three daughters and his only son, know how to read, write and do more than just basic math.

Stephen and Sarah Padalecki taught their children about the stars and had many books throughout their home in Salem, as well as the new one in Porterville, and that was considered scandalous by Puritan standards. And while his mother was highly religious in Jared’s early years, he could recall her faith waning as she didn’t see how _any_ God could have allowed the suffering to happen that had taken place before the madness finally ended.

Moving hadn’t erased the madness though because as far as Jared was concerned, it had been shortly after they had settled in the large home just on the outskirts of the town proper and near the lake that Jared’s life began to change.

The land had been very popular with the new arrivals and his father had gotten into a sort of a property war with their closest neighbors who had sought to keep it from being sold to the Padalecki’s. After a large dispute and a lot of money had exchanged hands, the land had been theirs and he had helped his father construct the two and half story wooden home, as well as the barn and shed.

At 19, Jared had been tall at 6’4” with broad shoulders and strong arms; he helped out around their home as well as helping others who needed it in Porterville to help earn extra money for his family, as his father had taken ill shortly after their home was completed.

The local doctor could find no cause for Stephen’s illness; no one wanted to speak of the rumors that had begun to go through the small village that the man had been cursed by a witch or that they suspected his own wife as being that witch.

Jared had been reeling from the sudden death of his father when the next blow hit the family. Their neighbors had tried to take their land on the grounds that it shouldn’t be legal for Sarah to own property without a husband. However, the smart and educated mother of four fought to keep her home, her land, as well as her children, only to end up losing everything over lies and trickery when everything was all said and done.

Even now as he roamed the grounds that had once been his home but had longer been his prison, Jared wasn’t sure how it had happened.

He had been helping another neighbor plow their field that day when someone had told him he needed to hurry home. The local Sheriff was at his house claiming his mother and two of his sisters were being arrested for witchcraft. They were to be hung without trial while his younger sister would be remanded over in the care of others to raise.

By the time Jared had reached home, he was horrified at what was waiting for him. The neighbor had labeled false charges against his family, knowing he could get the land that way. He was rich with very few in town wanting to cross him; he’d paid the Sheriff off to accuse his mother and two older sisters of witchcraft, of cursing people in town even though no one could say who had been hexed.

Beatrice, the oldest of the Padalecki children, had already been killed; drowned in the lake bordering their land. By the time Jared had arrived home, he was restrained by the Sheriff’s men and the neighbor’s son and hooked in heavy irons while Kathleen, his next sister, was dunked in the lake until she was also drowned.

Jared still heard his mother screaming as her youngest daughter, little six year old Helena, was dragged away, never to be seen by Jared again. Horrified, he watched his mother hung in the tree in their backyard while his own charges were laid out, as well as his punishment.

His life was being spared; the Sheriff had proclaimed with a sneer that it was believed his mother was the real witch and his shackles had been engraved with the Lord’s own magic to keep any spells he would cast to free himself or ensnare his captors, at bay.

Jared’s life was now indentured to the neighbors until he died and even as he heard his mother scream out her last words to those who had lied and who had harmed her children, he hadn’t realized how much easier his life would have been if he’d died as well.

It wasn’t until a week later that the truth began to set in, when he realized who the real witch of Porterville was, and learned what was expected of him; it dawned on him how cursed his life and ultimately his death would truly be.

Two years of pure hell, pain, shame, and misery as well as constant abuse of all types until finally his weakened body couldn’t take it anymore. Since no doctor could be called without allowing the town to learn of just what type of people their Pastor and his family really were, Jared was left to die, chained in the barn. The barn where he’d been held and tortured by the Pastor’s son until finally cursed to spend eternity trapped on the very land that had cost him his family, his freedom, and then his life.

He watched the years pass. He’d watched the Pastor grow old, one by one all of his children moved away or died… all but one and the one that remained still haunted Jared’s nightmares to this very day.

As a spirit trapped by evil to dwell on the land that should’ve been his, he’d watched as life, as the times, changed around him. He could wander the grounds but could not go past the boundaries, which meant he would never leave here. Jared had long ago accepted that no one would ever come to break the witch’s curse for the spells not only cursed Jared but those who came here to try to live.

It had only taken 100 years for a helpless Jared to realize why no one could stay on this ground to make a home or family on it. The curse that kept him there, that forced him to relive his worst moments, had also infected the land and whoever tried to live in that house was affected in some way.

Jared had seen some people driven mad. He’s seen some move in only to leave the next night and those were the lucky ones in his mind. It was the ones who tried to stay, to fight back or worse, who didn’t believe in the curse or the spell or the evil that still haunted this place, that ended up suffering the most.

No one ever saw him except for small children or the animals. When they were hurt by the presence still on this land, Jared hurt the most. He could still recall hearing his little sister scream as they took her away and how badly he’d hurt at 19 to see what had been done to his mother and sisters.

More than once Jared had begged a God he still tried to believe in to strike the badly worn house or barn with lightning so maybe, if everything burned, the fire would cleanse the evil from this place. He knew so long as he remained trapped… so long as the evil one remained, then no one who ever came here would be safe.

The young spirit had lost track of who owned the property. He thought it had passed down through a family, but he’d lost track of the actual owner since he hadn’t physically seen them in years. He knew every once and a while someone came to fix something or cut the grass when it got too high, but no one entered the barn or the shed; he knew that they were always warned of the dangers inside. Jared, however, knew the dangers extended past a cursed simple and lost boy trapped by someone’s cruel obsession.

It had been months since anyone had even come to do those things, much less to occupy the house, and a piece of Jared wondered if maybe time and decay would take claim of this place. He was actually hoping so, as he’d rather be a lost spirit living in the woods he hated than to see anyone else suffer or be hurt. Unfortunately, as he learned painfully one evening, that wasn’t to be the case.

Since passing away, his physical body long since gone to dust, Jared rarely felt anything such as pain or cold. He did still feel sadness and sometimes even other emotions, but nothing physical… except for when his tormentor chose to remind him that even in death, he wasn’t free of the pain he could cause.

“The old bat’s rented the place again, whelp,” the cold hard voice spoke from the shadows of the barn, sound seeming to come from everywhere so Jared’s spirit couldn’t hide or disappear like it might have normally. “Soon, the cycle will begin again. You’ll see that the curse and spells are getting stronger and another innocent will pay for your sins.”

“Leave them alone!” Jared shouted or what consisted as shouting in spirit form since he hadn’t heard his own voice speak words in over 300 years; even before he died a spell had made him mute, to prevent him from screaming or revealing his owner’s secrets. “Punish me if you still have to punish anyone! Leave these people be! They’re innocent! They’re _ugh_!”

It felt like fingers had grabbed his throat, but Jared had learned it was merely power as it was only with magic and spells this evil person could still cause him harm.

“There are no innocents! Whoever was foolish enough to rent this hovel of sin will be playthings for my amusement, just like you were so long ago, just like you still are. I enjoy watching you suffer as you try to warn them or save them when you couldn’t save yourself. No one will save you or them!”

Jared knew he was trapped but over the years he’d begun to wonder if there wasn’t a way to stop his tormentor from harming others. He suspected there might be, if someone was smart enough to find the way and then if they understood it. There was one room in the run down, wooden framed home, the attic room, which Jared couldn’t enter. He’d learned one night 200 years ago when he heard an enraged scream of fury… neither could his invisible captor.

Now Jared could only hope that whoever was arriving in the deep red vehicle and pulling a trailer behind it, would be the kind to flee before they were hurt.

Jared didn’t plan to look to see who had arrived but something tugged at him, an odd feeling he couldn’t explain. He slowly moved to peer out a crack in the wall of the loft which allowed him to get his first good look at the new resident, and frowned as he did because Jared immediately could tell this person was very different than the others who’d come before him.

The first thing Jared noticed was that the man was alone, or at least not with a family as he did see another man pull up in a rusted old pick-up truck. The absence of a wife or children marked this new arrival as odd since normally it was couples who rented the place with dreams of starting a new life by rebuilding the old historical home.

The other thing that struck Jared as different in this new person was his age. He was younger than most people who’d come before, but he still looked older than Jared figured he’d been at death. Those two things made Jared curious as to why a lone man would want to rent the place but what he heard next actually managed to shock the young spirit.

“You’re _buying_ this place? Buying, as in actually signing your name on a deed, and buying it?” the deep husky voice sounded as shocked as the spirit felt; this was a very big difference and left Jared unsure and confused as to why he suddenly felt different, almost hopeful, as if this revelation held some secret meaning, and he began to pay more attention.

“Jensen! I thought when you started talking about this that you were just renting this… this… _disaster_ out for a few months or even a year. You didn’t say you were actually going to pay money and buy it! Dude! Maybe you should be the first shrink to examine your own head! _What_ are you thinking? You live and work in California!”

“I _lived_ and _worked_ in California, both past tense terms, Chris,” the other man, Jensen, spoke up in a voice that wasn’t quite as deep as his friend’s and had a slight drawl to it that was a bit more soothing to Jared than the heavier accent of the first man. “You knew I wanted to make a change so… this is where I start. Porterville, Massachusetts! This place will be where I make a new life for myself.”

“I knew you were getting fed up out West with your family constantly harping on you about your choices but… Jensen! If you were planning to move East, planning to seriously start over… why didn’t you buy a place that didn’t look like it should be razed to the damn ground?” The other man demanded in exasperation. “Unless that’s what you plan to do before it falls in on your head during the first good storm?”

Jensen Ackles pocketed the keys to his SUV before going to open the door on the trailer that held everything important to him that he’d brought with him from his condo in California.

His friend’s surprise wasn’t anything Jensen hadn’t been expecting. He knew his sudden decision to turn in his resignation at Berkley, as well as any current offers open to him to join a psychology practice on the West Coast, had shocked his few friends and colleagues. Of course, those reactions had been tame compared to that of his parents when he told them not only was he moving but also breaking the engagement with a girl they decided he should marry.

Jensen could still hear the screams and shouts of his Mother and Father as he tried to explain his reasons behind this seemingly rash decision as well as the shrieks of rage from his ‘fiancée’, but he’d already spent months going over the Pros and Cons on this decision.  He knew if he didn’t go now then he’d never be free of his parents’ manipulations.

For all of his 28 years, he’d been controlled in some way or another; either by his wealthy parents or teachers who thought to manipulate the brilliant young man for their own goals.

Born in Texas but raised in California, Jensen Ross Ackles was the only son to Kyle and Gina Ackles; the son of an oil baron and a would-be actress. Jensen had breezed through school to graduate High School at 16 years old. He’d entered Princeton that following fall and graduated with a Masters in Arts in Psychology and his first Doctorate in Forensic Psychology by the time he was 20.

Refusing his parents demands to attend medical school to get a degree in ‘real’ medicine or even law school, Jensen had gone on to Berkley to get a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology as well as another Doctorate in Environmental Psychology so he carried both a Ph.D and a Psy.D by the time he was 26.

Jensen had gone into Psychology not with any plans to go into the therapy field really, even though he did find the study of the human mind intriguing, he’d mainly gone that route because it was the total opposite to what his demanding parents had wanted for him.

He took on an associate Professor job at Berkley rather than start his own practice or go into research like some had suggested he do; unlike a lot of people, Jensen really did enjoy research but not as a life’s work. So he had resisted all the subtle nudges of friends and family to push him into accepting partnership offers, or to write another paper like the one he had when he’d done his dissertation that had impressed his peers so considerably, he’d been offered a full faculty position… that he politely turned down.

Now at 28 years old, Jensen had grown bored of the usual work in his field and really didn’t care for teaching students whose main goal was just to learn enough to go out, get a job in the therapy field and not care about their patients. That wasn’t how Jensen saw the field but he’d accepted long ago that he wasn’t typical in many ways.

At 6’1” with a lean build of someone who ran daily and liked to exercise and be outdoors, Jensen didn’t look like a typical psychologist of old in that he rarely wore suits or ties.

He liked faded jeans, boots and t-shirts. He liked denim and cotton over silk or expensive clothes like his father and his friends wore, or his mother and the girl he was supposed to marry demanded he wear.

Jensen also didn’t care for the lifestyle he’d grown up in and had been expected to continue living. He didn’t like opera, fancy art galleries or the symphony. He didn’t like any of the other things the rich were supposed to and while he didn’t make a lot in his brief teaching career, he was far from poor as he’d invested the money he’d inherited from his great-grandparents well. He also didn’t waste his money like others in his parents circle tended to, so when he’d chosen to follow a dream of his to Massachusetts, it was on his dime and not his families that he did so. It was also his money that would buy him this run down, badly in need of repair and restoration piece of property that had drawn him the moment he’d first read about the area. He was sold when he did a drive by months earlier while he was supposed to be attending some seminar at Princeton that was being held by a former professor.

Jensen had another passion that he discovered would go well with his background in psychology, only this was a passion he’d learned to keep hidden from his stern parents and the socialite his mother decided he’d marry to carry on the family name.

Ever since he’d been in middle school, Jensen had enjoyed the odd, the unusual, and the paranormal. He read anything he could on ghosts and spirits and as he got older, he expanded his field of paranormal study to include older lore on everything from spells, to curses, to witches and the like.

Very few of his friends, except the man with him now, knew or understood that to Jensen, his love of the supernatural was more than a hobby or a fad. It was something he didn’t fully believe in as Jensen had seen too many faked hauntings and fake mediums to believe every story or piece of lore was true or to take anything at face value these days. It was this interest that had finally made the young psychologist take a huge leap of faith and not only leave behind his career, but also risk his professional reputation by choosing to take a year to prove whether or not the myth and stories about Porterville and this piece of property were real or just another fake.

When Jensen announced to his disapproving parents that he’d be leaving standard psychology behind to go into the more pseudoscience study of parapsychology, he thought that reaction was even worse than the one they’d had when he’d flat out told them to cancel the wedding they were planning without him since he was gay and had been since he was 14.

His father had shouted and demanded and threatened to block access to all his funds which Jensen calmly reminded the man that they had lost control of those accounts when he turned 18 and in fact, he could sue them for stealing money out of his one account while they’d been in control of it until he came of age.

His mother had screamed and launched into one of her emotional, guilt-ridden tirades about humiliating them with his own selfish behavior; Jensen had long since stopped paying attention to those, as it had been his parents who had pressured him into going to Princeton in the first place when he’d wanted to graduate with his class and not be looked at like an outsider or a wonder kid by others.

The fiancée had cried and shouted about her damaged reputation at him breaking up with her, but Jensen knew his mother had paid her off and would pay her again, rather than risk the angry girl from announcing it to their rich friends that their so-called perfect and brilliant son was gay and going off on some trip to hunt ghosts in New England.

Two weeks later Jensen had packed his condo up, sold it to an associate, and drove across country to Massachusetts where he’d met his longtime friend, Chris Kane. Chris was playing with his band in Boston and agreed to help him move into the old house on the outskirts of Porterville.

Jensen could do a lot of things most people in his field wouldn’t dream of trying, there were things he wouldn’t attempt and anything to do with electricity or the running of it was one of those things. His friend had agreed to check the wiring in the house to be sure it would be up for the amount of electronics Jensen planned to have running through it soon.

Now as he listed to the man rant about the state of disrepair the property was in and how his plan to just rent the place for a year had changed to outright buying it, Jensen figured he’d be lucky to get Chris to help him carry the equipment inside, much less run a wire.

“Why would you buy this place instead of rent it?” Chris was demanding while running his fingers back through long black hair rather than shake his friend like he’d been tempted. “It’s not even in town, dude! There’s nothing out here but trees, a lake… probably Bigfoot. Why couldn’t you rent it and buy a house in actual civilization?”

The two had met at Berkley and while they’re total opposites, Chris being three years older than Jensen and had gone to college on a football scholarship as well as working two jobs, the two men had meshed as friends and had remained that way over the years, despite the obvious differences in lifestyles.

Chris had his own band that traveled the country playing small gigs and when he wasn’t on the road, he worked with his father and uncles in the construction business the Kane family owned on Boston’s Back Bay. He’d been happy to travel to the small town an hour or so outside of Boston to help his friend but now he was having serious doubts about not only Jensen’s choice to leave his life behind, but also the safety of this place in general.

As someone who’d grown up raised by blue collar parents and who’d worked hard all his life, Chris didn’t exactly believe in ghosts or things that went bump in the night; despite having an aunt who swore she could see dead people. He accepted Jensen's interest in the study, but then he’d also accepted Jensen was gay without batting an eye. He was willing to accept a great deal for his friend but there was something about this place that just sent the hairs on the back of Chris’s neck and his arms standing up.

The legends and lore, the stories and myths surrounding the Witch Trials in Salem as well as other lore in Massachusetts were well known. Porterville had its share and he knew that had been what had drawn Jensen from California to the tiny area; a new determination to prove whether or not ghosts existed or if an actual curse had been placed on this spot of land by a coven of angry witches over 300 years ago.

“Why?” Chris asked yet again when he realized Jensen’s bright green eyes had moved to the old barn as if seeing something besides rotting wood, broken windows and weeds nearly up to Chris’s waist. “You could rent it and live in a nice room in the B&B in town or hell! Stay with my mother in Boston and drive back and forth. Jensen, this place…”

“Is perfect,” Jensen finished while turning to offer a full smile at his shocked friend. “When Professor Morgan first told me about the lore and legend surrounding Porterville and more importantly, the old Padalecki farm… I knew it would be the perfect spot to start looking into whether or not ghosts or curses or even witches exist, but this is even better than I’d hoped when I first came and saw it a few months ago.”

Chris had been about to once again suggest Jensen do a study on his own brain when he stopped in mid-sentence to stare at him. “When you what?” he’d known Jensen had gotten this crazy idea from his old Professor from Princeton when he’d gone back for that seminar, but he hadn’t known the young Psychologist had actually _seen_ the property. “You’ve seen this place before now? You knew it looked like something Dad and Uncle Jake would want to tear down before letting you move in? You knew it and still you’re happy about it?”

“Of course I knew what the place looked like, Chris. I knew what it looked like before I went to see the owner about buying it instead of renting it. I wouldn’t have made an offer on it without seeing it first. I’m not that stupid,” Jensen snorted but then smirked at the eye roll that got him. “I know it looks bad now and yeah, for the main reason I’m here I could’ve just rented it but… there’s just something that called to me here and I… I knew I had to try to make an offer even though Jeff had told me this property had been in the Porter family for 200 years or more.

“Miss Porter and I talked about my project, about what I was hoping to do, and then we talked about other things. But before I flew back to California that day, she’d said she had good feelings about me and would sell,” Jensen pulled a small duffle out of the trailer but his gaze kept going to the old barn, much like it had when he’d first scoped the property out. “She said she’s getting older and never married so she’d rather sell it to me than allow anyone else to get their hands on it again… which I didn’t understand but…” he shrugged and turned to give his friend a little smile. “All I have to do is sign the title now that I’m here and it’s mine. She’s supposed to meet us here but she must be running behind or we’re early or…”

“Or she changed her mind or is a little forgetful and forgot you were…” Chris was still shaking his head at this surprising detail when the sound of a car pulling up had him turning only to frown. “How old’s this woman and would she actually be driving a Porsche?” he asked as that feeling of unease began picking up. “Who’s this asshole?”

Jensen hissed at his more abrupt friend even as he was turning to see a tall dark haired man, who appeared to be in his early 30’s, step from the fancy car.

In the times that he’d been to Porterville, Jensen had noticed that like many small towns in New England seemed to hold many different types of people; some rich, some not so much and those who just lived their lives and didn’t pay too much attention to others. He had noticed some newer cars but still, the Porsche seemed out of place and the man driving it seemed to be someone Jensen would see associating with his upper class parents in some country club more than a tiny little place like this.

A sudden cold breeze seemed to blow around him and Jensen swore he’d shivered but didn’t pay enough to attention to see that despite the breeze that blew over his short but wavy dark blond hair, the leaves on the fall trees didn’t move, and neither did Chris’ much longer hair.

“Greetings!” the man called out in a voice that had a mild New England accent. “I happened to catch sight of your trailer there from my window and figured you must be Elena’s new renter,” he said as he approached them with a hand extended to Jensen. “I’m Tom Welling, your closest neighbor for however long you last here.”

Jensen frowned slightly as he started to lift his hand to take the one extended to him out of some long ago learned manners from his mother, only he found himself stopping to stare at the man. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked in a tone that was definitely harder than his usual voice; something about this man put him on edge which he found odd, since in his profession he’d learned to ignore those odd little vibes people put off. “I’m also not Miss Porter’s renter. I’m her buyer,” he put in as an afterthought.

“Oh, it’s just that most people who rent this old dump don’t stay around long or didn’t she tell you that this place is haunted as well as cursed by witches?” Welling smirked as he finally let his hand drop when Jensen refused to take it. “People who come here for the season or who try to make a… wait, what did you say?” he stared at Jensen as his last comment finally registered with him. “Buyer? Buyer for what?” he demanded, tone suddenly changing as well as his friendly manner.

“This place and the land surrounding it,” Jensen replied easily. He felt Chris move closer as both men had noticed the change in their visitor’s mood the moment he heard that Jensen was more than just the usual renter. As a trained and licensed Psychologist, Jensen knew how to read people’s moods as well as their faces to tell what was going on inside their heads, and this man was putting off some feelings like Jensen had never felt or dealt with before, immediately putting him on guard. “She sold it to me since I plan on restoring it back to how it was when it was built.”

Sharp icy eyes stared at him just as it seemed like a crack of lightning hit somewhere, even though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

“What the hell was that?” Chris had jumped at the sound but then blinked twice as he’d looked at Welling to swear his blue eyes had almost flashed nearly to black as he glared at Jensen with a hate that was so strong it made the suddenly cold air thick with it.

“She sold you this place?” Welling demanded tightly, fury in his voice as well as his face as he took this news in. “That’s not possible. The Porters swore to never sell this land to anyone since they bought it from my…” he shot Jensen a narrowed look as a noise from near the barn made him scowl; a scowl that got harder the moment Jensen started to turn at the noise. “No. No, this isn’t… what?”

Jensen swore he could feel someone close by, someone other than Chris, when a noise from either inside or near the barn had him looking away from Welling to peer over his shoulder. He’d just been looking back to ask the man what the problem was when he thought he caught sight of a thin shadow near the large tree in the front yard. Then he was jumping back when the sound of a rifle fired and gravel was scattered as the shot hit the ground between him and the other man.

“Get the hell off my property or the next shot goes clean through your bloodless heart!”

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Breaking Free**

**Chapter Two**

“Get the hell off my property or the next shot goes clean through your bloodless heart!”

The sudden, sharp, no nonsense voice that spoke right after the crack of a rifle had Chris Kane jerking Jensen back seconds before another shot fired into the gravel near Tom Welling’s leather shoe.

“What the hell have you gotten us into, Ackles?” Chris demanded in a sharp whisper while trying to find out who the hell was shooting, much less who was speaking, when he followed where Jensen’s eyes had gone to the front door of the home to find himself staring. “Seriously?”

Jensen wasn’t used to little old grandmotherly type ladies shooting rifles or barking out orders like Elena Porter was right then.  This was the woman he was planning to buy this property off of; she stepped from the house with a large, older style rifle aimed right at the chest of Tom Welling, who it appeared, was the one she’d been speaking to.

“Now Elena,” Welling had started to say in a much different tone of voice, as if knowing he’d let his temper and surprise get the best of him.  He was trying to soothe the old woman’s displeasure, starting to take a step only to stumble back when another shot fired.

“That’s Ms. Porter to you, you ball-less jackass!” the petite looking, silver haired, older woman snapped while raising the barrel of the rifle up to take perfect aim. “You take yourself off my property, Welling! Until Jensen signs his name to the contract I have waiting for him inside, this is still my goddamn property and even after he does and it becomes his, it’s in the fine print that you will never step foot on this land or any of the buildings. You will never have what you want. Now go on! Get moving! Or I’ll do what my great-great-great Granny should’ve done!” she snapped.

Welling stared at her, turning to look at Jensen before smirking as he got back in his car, backed up and tore out of the gravel driveway with a cloud of dust and kicked up stones.

“Well, that’s one neighbor you’ve already pissed off,” Chris muttered while making a note to definitely make sure the locks on this house were upgraded because he didn’t need Jensen’s fancy degrees to tell him that his friend was probably going to have trouble with _that_ one. “Is she going to shoot us?” he asked softly out of the corner of his mouth. “Are you sure you really want to do this, Jensen?”

“She can hear you, y’know,” Jensen told his worried friend while turning to see the rifle being lowered. “Miss Porter, I didn’t see your car so I didn’t know you were here already. I’m sorry if I’m late,” he began while stepping around to the front of his SUV. His eyes kept going to the barn as he wondered about that shadow he thought he’d seen by the tree and the noise he had sworn he heard. “Umm, who was that man?” he asked and tried to shed the bad vibes he could still feel from Welling’s last look. “I… I didn’t think anyone really lived that close to this place.”

“He’s a jackass and no one does live that close anymore,” Elena Porter remarked with a last long look down the driveway where the dust could still be seen settling. “Welling actually lives on the other side of town, but his family used to have the property next to this one. They lost it when they lost this piece, probably around 1736 or so, and have been trying to regain it ever since.” She slipped the safety back on the rifle before lowering it to eye Jensen sternly. “You must never allow that man near you or this place, Jensen. He’s a vile, foul creature who will do worse things than just harm you physically if you allow him an opening. Now, you boys come on inside.”

Jensen opened his mouth to ask a question but stopped to consider her words as well as the weird feelings he’d gotten from the man. Glancing to the barn, he decided the moment this place was his that he was exploring that building first thing.

He’d never actually been inside the house that he was buying, and decided not to mention this so Chris wouldn’t have another reason to doubt his sanity, so he shouldered his duffle and kept silent. Jensen stepped into the kitchen and paused as he was suddenly hit with a burst of dizziness that would have had him falling backwards if Chris hadn’t stepped in right behind and caught him.

“Hey! Jensen? What the hell? You okay?” Chris demanded, concerned when he noticed how pale Jensen suddenly seemed and how clammy his skin was to the touch. “Damn it! I told you that driving across the damn country like you did without taking more breaks was going to knock you on your ass but damn, I didn’t think literally.”

“Huh? No… no, it’s not that,” Jensen wasn’t sure _what_ it was. One minute he’d been shrugging off the bad feelings he’d still had from Tom Welling and the next, he’d stepped over the threshold of the house he was minutes away from purchasing, to what felt like an electric current passing through his entire body accompanied by a rush of raw emotions like he’d never felt before. It felt like a combination between deep relief and pure pleasure “That was… whoa… that was just weird. You better check to be sure the electric lines and main box are steady before hooking anything up in case the wiring is…”

“Jensen, there are no clear electrical lines near this house and the main transformer that I did see looks new, so…” Chris wasn’t sure what was happening but it wasn’t because his friend was sensitive to electromagnetic currency from some old wires.

Elena Porter had been pouring hot tea into mugs from the pot she’d set on to brew when she’d arrived earlier. Now she turned to look at the young man she’d chosen to sell her family’s property to for a long moment. Out of all the people she’d rented to, and there had been many, this one was the first to feel anything upon entering the home. She smiled to herself and knew her choice had been correct.

“Sit and drink this. You can read over the property agreement while I show your friend here the fuse box so he can be reassured that while this old place might look ready to fall down on the outside, it’s strong and sturdy on the inside,” she smiled while placing a mug in front of Jensen and patted his hand. “There’s no reason for nerves now, child. You were led to this place for a reason and if you’re willing to keep an open mind, I think you’ll be able to accomplish not only your own goals but also to finally help to break a cycle of pain that’s been in motion for 319 years.”

Chris had been looking around the interior of the house or what he could see of it when he jerked his head back around to stare at the old woman as if she was totally nuts or really believed in too much of the so-called hype around this place.

Jensen frowned in confusion at that but couldn’t deny that he had almost felt drawn to this place from the moment his professor told him about some of the lore. He knew most people with his background, his degrees, would turn up the noses at such stories or would instantly dismiss lore or stories of ghosts or curses as nothing but lies and myth, but Jensen wasn’t like that.

He did know that there were certain things could explain most ghost tales, but there’d been things that he’d seen before that couldn’t be explained by high EMF or sensitivity to it, just old houses or over active imaginations. It was _those_ stories that he looked forward to discovering here in Porterville and on this property. He didn’t plan to be scared away by some temperamental asshole or whatever it was that he’d just felt.

“Thanks,” he sat down at the sturdy, highly polished, wooden table to reach into an inner pocket of his jean jacket to remove the damn wire rimmed glasses he hated but needed to see to read close up.

Being near-sighted had been a curse since childhood, one that Jensen had been constantly made to feel awkward over. His parents tried to force contacts on their six year old son but his eyes were too sensitive for long term use, and so he had to use glasses.

He still uses the glasses over the damn contacts even though Jensen often forgets to remove the glasses when he is done with them and usually ends up tripping over something or forgetting where he put them after he finally does take them off.

He slipped them on now to read over the property contract and deed. He’d already gone over both with a lawyer so he knew what was there, but to make the older woman happy he began to read and could hear Elena telling Chris to follow her to the back of the house where the main fuse box was located.

The interior of the home was actually a lot better maintained than either man had been expecting. Chris knew Jensen wouldn’t care about that. His friend would’ve been happy even if the roof leaked… which it might for all they knew.

Jensen Ackles, in Chris’s mind, was the strangest rich person, as well as the strangest psychologist, he’d ever met. When they first met in Berkley it was to share a dorm and one look had the Oklahoma born, Boston raised, blue collar student knowing he couldn’t have gotten a more opposite roommate if he’d tried. While they were different, it had shocked Chris that Jensen wasn’t as stuck up or cold as some people on campus had said he was.

In fact, by the end of the first week Chris had determined Jensen wasn’t stuck up or cold as much as he was shy and trying to fit into a world that he didn’t fully understand because he hadn’t had a chance to grow up and do the normal things that kids usually did.

When Chris learned that Jensen had already graduated from Princeton with a full degree and a Masters, he knew the man was book smart even if he was not always smart about life in general. From that moment on he’d taken Jensen under his wing, so to speak and tried to help him break out of the shy, uneasy shell he seemed to put up around most people.

It was a brief meeting with Jensen’s parents that explained to Chris why his friend was so reserved and quiet. It also told him now why Jensen was so determined to move his whole life, uproot his career and move across the country to hunt ghosts: he was finally ready to break free of their control as well as the constant demands that he be someone he wasn’t.

“He’s a strong boy,” the old woman’s mellow voice that was heavy with a typical New England accent broke into Chris’s silent thoughts.  He took his time to look at the brand new, heavy duty fuse box that he could see had been put in recently and by experts. “But strength isn’t all that he needs to do what needs to be done here. Do you believe in what he’s hunting?” she asked.

“Jensen doesn’t fully believe in what he’s hunting so I’m not sure this isn’t a huge waste of time and money for him to be honest with you,” Chris replied simply, stepping out a back door to eye the wires coming into the home to nod to himself that he wouldn’t have to worry about rewiring the place or about any of the equipment still in the trailer overloading anything, as it all looked stable. “I’ve got an aunt who says she talks to dead people but until I see one or see something that my buddy the all-too bright psychologist in there can’t explain, then I’ll hold back on my opinions,” he looked down at the petite woman since she barely topped 5’4”. “I think I’ll worry more about the physical dangers such as leaky roofs, old barns… or crazy neighbors. What was his beef with you selling this place to Jensen anyway?” he asked.

“He’s been trying to get his unclean hands on this property for a long time but my family has refused to sell because it’s been a sort of family tradition to keep this place until someone came along that had a feel to them,” Elena smiled at the odd look Chris shot her on their way back to the kitchen. “I’ve always rented it out to people who claimed they liked the ‘rustic feel’ or wanted to remodel it or just wanted to start a life. Those people didn’t last because of the curse and because this wasn’t the right place for them. I knew when Jensen came to my door that he was different. He’s also the only person who ever reacted like that after stepping in the front door.”

Chris had been taught by strict parents to not scoff at old people, so while he nearly smirked at the talk of curses being the cause of other people leaving this place, he merely nodded politely. Then he thought of Jensen’s reaction as well as other things his friend had mentioned recently. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” he asked with true concern.

He couldn’t stay in Porterville full time due to other commitments but he also didn’t want to worry constantly about Jensen’s health or safety either. He’d need to either rework his schedule or make damn certain Jensen knew what the hell he was doing with this plan of his.

“I’m… not certain,” the old woman admitted before giving a warm smile. “But before you leave him here I will be,” she reassured Chris while adding easily, “Aside from the curse and spells laid on this land years ago, the house itself will decide if it wants him here and if that happens, then I will know my choice to sell to him was the right one.”

“Uh-huh,” Chris muttered and knew he’d be putting a lot of miles on his truck, calling in a lot of favors with his father to get time off work, and he’d just have to piss his bandmates off if it came down to it. “So… have we changed our mind about this plan yet, Jensen?” he asked and wasn’t fully joking. He managed not to groan as Jensen picked up a pen with a raised eyebrow. “Okay then, I guess I’ll start carrying all that crap you brought inside while you talk to the lady here and maybe get a tour _before_ signing.”

“Oh, I’ll help you if you’ll…” Jensen started to stand when a platter of sandwiches was placed on the table. “You’ve been here a while I take it?” he chuckled.

Elena laughed while setting out other items. “I had my granddaughter drop me off this morning so I could give this place a good cleaning so you weren’t chased out by the dust and cobwebs of the property being too long standing empty,” she told them and motioned Chris to sit down to eat before he carried things inside. “I know you must have a general idea to the history of Porterville, and we’ve talked generally of the area and a little about the myths surrounding this place, but… I think before you get settled I should give you a better version than what you’ve heard, since most of that was hearsay and lies spread by those too scared to know better or speak up.”

Chris grabbed a small sandwich but chose to get started on carrying some of the boxes inside. He wasn’t as interested in history and lore as Jensen was so he figured he’d be fine in picking up tidbits here and there; plus some of the equipment was heavy and fragile and he knew while Jensen wasn’t the clumsy type, he did tend to drop things that tended to break easily. “Where do you want the equipment?” he asked before heading out the door. “If I know, I can just take it there instead of bringing it in and then moving it.”

“Oh… ummm, just put it in the largest room upstairs for now. We’ll set it up tomorrow,” Jensen needed to actually look at the house he now owned but he was also interested in what Elena had to tell him since most of his research had been a little sketchy in regards to what had actually happened in Porterville or on this land. “I did some basic online searching and tried to ask around locally while I was here but… all I got told was the land and house was cursed by evil witches who’d been killed here and now no one could live here without running off or something bad happening to someone in the family. Is there more?” he asked while digging into the duffel for his notebook that was already filled with notes on what he’d managed to learn.

“Professor Morgan, who told me about this place, said the town was founded right after the Witch Trials in Salem ended and… wait… Porterville,” Jensen looked at the old woman as the name of the town and her last name clicked with him. “Are you related to the original settlers?”

Elena pulled a chair over to sit beside Jensen and as she did so she placed a thick old leather bound book on the table near him. “In a way,” she began while gazing at Jensen’s face for a long time as if trying to decide on something very important. “Porterville was actually founded a few months before those terrible times ended by the Porter family and three other families. The original Porters were wealthy for the time but left Salem because they didn’t agree with all of the new laws and attitudes that had begun to come up. After the trials, when more people left in hopes of starting fresh, they welcomed them here but unfortunately even without knowing it, the evil from Salem was already in their midst.”

Jensen could recall reading about the infamous Witch Trials of Salem when he’d been school. It had interested him like very few other history subjects ever did and even when he’d been in college that period had fascinated him for some reason. He wondered if it was that fascination that had helped to build his need now to test the theory of ghosts and curses out in a town not that far away from Salem and who had suffered its own witch infestation, or so the lore told.

“Were any witches actually killed in Salem?” he asked as he pushed his glasses back up his nose with a fingertip. “I mean… I’ve spent time in Salem. I’ve gone to the museum, been on the tours, and seen the reenactments but… does anyone really know the truth about what happened or if any of those people killed were actually guilty?”

“There were witches in Salem but not one of those hung, or who died in that jail, or that poor man who was pressed to death, was among them. Salem’s witch hunters killed innocents and allowed the guilty to spread their evil here to Porterville,” Elena told him seriously, tapping a finger on the well preserved cover of the book before nudging it over to Jensen until he opened it. “This was started by my descendent. It tells a tale as she was told it by those who witnessed a miscarriage of justice. But despite their wealth and influence, they were powerless to stop not only what happened to a whole family, but one young man in particular.”

Jensen carefully turned the pages. He was almost afraid to touch the book after he saw the date and realized how old this item was but just when he was about to close it, he felt a cold breeze flutter over his neck as if fingers were dancing across his skin but worked to put it off as his own imagination for the moment. “That guy, Welling, he said this place was cursed and haunted and that’s why no renters ever stayed. The lore I read said it was cursed by the witches who were killed here. What’s true?” he asked while trying to split his attention between watching Chris carry in boxes of equipment and books, the silver haired older woman with deep hazel eyes and the memory of dreams he hadn’t shared with anyone. “You said the evil of Salem came here so… The witches who died here… they did curse this land or what happened?”

“Yes, a witch did curse this land but those who were killed here, who were accused of being witches, weren’t the ones who cursed it or put the spell of evil that still taints this place,” Elena told him as she poured herself tea while also pouring a glass of iced tea for a grumbling Chris on one of his trips through the kitchen. “This piece of land was the center of a hotly contested land battle between two families, the Welling family who already held land here and the Padalecki family who moved from Salem after the trials.”

The name ticked the back of Jensen’s brain because it had been the uniqueness of it in a Puritan land that had first got his attention. “Was that a common name back in those days?” he asked curiously when he suddenly looked up from glancing out the window toward the barn. “Welling? As in the same family that asshole you chased out of here? His family had a land feud with the Padaleckis?”

“You’re the first person other than my family to pronounce that name correctly and no, it wasn’t very common back then or even now as it wasn’t carried on like it should have been,” Elena remarked with a proud little smile; a smile that faded some as she addressed his other question. “And yes, you can consider that wretched man as a part of that family but we’ll get there in time. Let me explain to you about the family who built this home as I show you around the inside of what it will soon be _your_ home. Then you can sign this document.”

“Damn it, Jensen! How the hell did you pack so much stuff in that tiny little trailer?” Chris demanded with a gasp as he dropped one heavy box of books on the table before slumping down to take a rest. “Did you pack any clothes or normal stuff that doesn’t weight 50 pounds?”

“Yeah, that stuff’s in the back of the SUV with my laptop and important stuff,” Jensen replied as he followed a laughing Elena up the steps that led to the second floor and missed the gesture he figured his friend had just flipped him. “I actually left all the heavy stuff behind since I only brought what was really important to me. I’m starting over so… I packed my books, the clothes I wanted to bring, my equipment and left the rest.”

“This is a good place to start fresh… if you’re strong enough to fight for it,” Elena was naturally worried about the young man. She had good feelings about him but knew the evil would work hard to drive him away if he chose to stay once he realized just what he might have gotten into.

“Tell me about this curse that scares people away from here and how it started,” Jensen realized the house was much larger than he’d first thought when he’d seen the outside.

Unlike the saltbox style of homes built in that period, this one was more rectangle in shape without the sloping part on the back. The rooms weren’t large but he’d dealt with smaller in the dorms he’d had in college and even his first apartment, so this was huge to him. He was curious about the half space above them but would allow Elena to get there in her own time.

They paused in the door to what should’ve been the master bedroom as it was the largest of the rooms upstairs, but he’d use it for his equipment probably if no other room suited him for that purpose. “Why would anyone curse a piece of property so no one could live on it? Bitterness? Jealousy? What was the cause?”

“A little of both and just plain malicious evil, but let me start at the beginning and how the name Padalecki came to this small piece of Massachusetts,” Elena patted a small bench in the hall. “Most of this will be in that book I’ll leave with you for your studies but I want to tell you facts over what lies you might still hear in town. Some people are still too afraid of the Welling family to stand up for the truth. I think if people had been willing then this might have been over long ago… or it might be true and it’ll take someone from the outside, someone with courage and understanding, to break the cycle.”

“I’m just someone looking to prove if ghosts or even curses exist, Miss Porter. I’m probably not the curse breaking kind of guy… if there is such a thing,” Jensen’s eyes shifted to the ceiling as he thought he’d heard a sound from the attic. Inwardly he winced because while he was good with a lot of things, he really did have a thing against rodents.

“Oh, they exist and one has been harming this land for a very long time but I knew when you explained who you were and what you did for a living that you would decide for yourself what is true and what isn’t,” Elena replied and then took a breath. Then she began her story of how a young German immigrant, a doctor, had come to America to practice because he wanted to help people who’d come to this new world.

“Stephen Padalecki came from a long line of healers and physicians. Once here, he met a young Puritan girl, Sarah Porter, and after a proper courtship, they married and settled in Salem where they had four children: Beatrice, Kathleen, Jared, and their youngest, Helena. They were well-off by some standards but because Stephen was German and Sarah didn’t always follow the strict Puritan code of ethics in how they taught their children, they were considered outcasts by several in Salem. If the Trials had continued it was more than likely one or both of them would have been accused of consorting with the Devil as it was called.

“It was Sarah’s brother, Silas, who helped to create Porterville, so it was only natural that he invited his sister’s family to start fresh here, where it should’ve been safe and free from that type of thing… but it wasn’t as simple as that,” Elena noticed that Jensen’s gaze kept moving to the ceiling and then the door that led to the attic and she smiled, knowingly. “What has your research told you about the Padalecki family?”

Jensen had to blink at the sudden question and cursed his stupidity for leaving his notes in the kitchen because he was horrible at reciting things off the top of his head. “Oh. Umm, the family moved here in June of 1693 and shortly after completing the last structure, the shed I believe, Stephen fell ill and died shortly afterward of what the local doctors say was mysterious circumstances.

“The official story is his wife either poisoned him or put some type of spell on him. She and her older three children were then months later accused of witchcraft and consorting with Satan,” he squeezed his eyes shut as a sudden pain behind them nearly had him reaching for a small bottle of pills in his pocket when it suddenly stopped as quickly as it came. “She… Uh, she and her daughters were killed but… but the son was spared while the youngest girl was removed to be raised by relatives… or so the lore states,” Jensen looked beside him, fighting back the urge to rub his eyes. “What’s the other version?”

“Stephen was killed with evil magic, but not of his wife’s doing. There was a witch in Porterville and an evil one at that. He seduced the innocent, bewitched the feeble minded into doing his bidding, and because his father was the town Pastor: hid behind religion and Puritan beliefs. No one ever would have suspected the Pastor’s son of being the witch, just like no one suspected him in Salem,” Elena shook her head, disgusted. “Those poor girls were just as innocent as those hung in Salem when they were dunked in the lake bordering this land until they were dead.

“Sarah was a healer. She’d learned the old magic but never used it save for healing the sick with her husband and the only curse she uttered was on those who’d destroyed her family just for the purpose of stealing this land and her son, because in the end Jared wasn’t spared. No, in fact his punishment was actually far worse and when he finally died of illness and infection, that evil, spiteful, monster cursed that poor boy’s soul to be trapped on this land. He made sure Jared never found peace in life and now he’s still tormenting his spirit in death,” the old woman stood slowly to move to a window in one of the rooms facing the front of the house and looked out onto the old barn.

“When Jared died, it’s said the man buried his body somewhere on the property with the cursed shackles still on his bones, so even if someone did find a way to break the spell and curse laid on him the poor boy’s ghost would still be unable to cross into the light,” Elena glanced back at Jensen. “No one has ever seen his spirit except for a few children of my renters and an animal or two. I don’t know if it’s because he’s too scared to try to show himself to an adult or if that evil spell keeps him hidden. But I know he’s here because I saw him as a girl.”

Jensen’s blood had gone cold as he’d listened to her talk. Not just from the fact that there might actually be a ghost on this property to prove his theory that they did exist, but some of what Elena had recited seemed so real to him as if he’d read it, or maybe even dreamed it because he’d been trying to dismiss the dreams he’d been having of this place ever since he’d first stepped foot on the property.

“You’ve seen him?” he asked quietly and glanced down at the barn and then out to the yard at the tree while. He heard something thumping from above once again, only this didn’t sound like a mouse or a rat. “In the house or just the barn? If he is here then… do you think I’d be able to see him or communicate with him?”

“That I can’t answer because as I’ve said, not a single one of my renters ever spoke of seeing Jared,” Elena led him out to the hall and toward the door that lead to the attic. “He’s trapped here but there’s more here than just a spirit of a lost boy, Jensen. The curse the witch laid on him, on this land, is dark and foul. It has caused some to run screaming while others it managed to cause physical harm.

“My family took this property back from Pastor Welling’s family in 1736 and vowed to keep it until someone came along who we felt had the inner strength, the belief, and the need to help free not only Jared from 319 years of pain but also this land… and maybe themselves as well,” the older woman took Jensen’s hands in hers to smile up into his cautious eyes. “I have good feelings that you can prove not only what you set out to but also help that poor boy find peace.”

Jensen blinked as it hit him what she was saying. He started to argue that he wasn’t even sure he believed in ghosts, much less a 300 year old curse or witches or whatever was happening here, when he paused to consider why he’d been drawn to this place out of all the better known haunted places on the East Coast. “I won’t promise anything but… I also won’t be run out of someplace I just bought either,” he told her as just as a horn could be heard blowing and knew that wasn’t the horn on his SUV or Chris’s truck. “That for you?”

“Oh, that’ll be my granddaughter picking me up since she doesn’t like coming out here after dark,” Elena rolled her eyes. “You can finish exploring on your own but wait to explore the barn until the morning as there are no lights out there and it could be dangerous since it is in pretty bad shape due to the fact no one went there out of fear; thanks to people like Welling telling them lies or half-truths,” she squeezed his arm before after going downstairs to slip into her jacket while Jensen signed the contract on the spots that had been marked for him to sign and initial.

“I know you don’t really believe in all this stuff like ghosts and curses, and that might be a good thing since hopefully you’ll be able to tell the difference between good and evil when, or if, the time comes. But just know that anything you see or feel that seems scary? Won’t be Jared. He’s a good spirit trapped in a nightmare and wouldn’t harm a fly,” she picked up her purse, slipped the contract inside for delivery to her lawyer and gave a sweaty Chris a smile as he carried in the last of the boxes from the trailer. “I sold this place to you because I have good feelings about you. I have told many a so-called scientist or ghost hunter to go back where they came from, but not you.”

That surprised Jensen. He hadn’t been aware that the elderly, spunky woman had turned away others in the field. “Why didn’t you do that with me?” he asked curiously.

“Because you were honest when you came to my door and because I think once you start to learn more about the events here, about Jared and why he’s trapped here, that you’ll care,” Elena looked back as Jensen walked her to the battered old Chevy waiting in the driveway. She paused with her hand on the door to look toward the barn. “Caring and a good heart are more powerful weapons than any spell still in existence. Just be careful and remember what I told you about letting that man near you or on the property,” she laid a hand on his face with a smile. “Call me if you have any questions or if you need anything. I don’t care what time. This might be your property now but I’ll still feel responsible for you and it.”

“I’ll be fine, ma’am,” Jensen smiled at the gentle touch. It was odd to be talked to with concern rather than condemnation; he’d rarely had that since his grandmother had passed away when he’d been a teenager. “I’ve done enough research to know ghosts and the like can’t hurt me unless I let it happen and I don’t plan on doing that.”

Hazel eyes lifted to his and the first sign of concern showed on the older woman’s smooth face. “Don’t trust those old tales because the evil on this land will prove you wrong. He’ll see you as a threat.”

“Who will?” Jensen asked with a frown, refusing the sudden chill he felt or the feeling like someone was watching them. “I thought you said Jared wouldn’t harm a fly.”

“Jared wouldn’t but he’s not the threat I speak of,” Elena remarked and rolled down the car window to peer up at Jensen. “He who trapped him here, who was so obsessed with keeping him, will be the threat. While he saw the others as playthings for his amusement, when he views you as someone who might be able to break the curse and free Jared’s soul to go into the light, then he will see you as a threat. Be careful with who you trust or let close to you here, Jensen.”

“Gram! Geez, stop with the hoodoo before the guy changes his mind and runs like hell back to wherever he came from!” the young woman behind the wheel scolded. “Sure, this place is spooky as hell but all those renters fled because they listened to the rumors from the locals.”

Elena rolled her eyes but offered Jensen a smile. “Jensen will make up his own mind soon enough. Oh, and I filled the freezer and pantry with food until you go shopping. Don’t forget to eat. You look too skinny.”

Chris snorted but had hid his smile before his friend whirled to glare at him because eating regular meals was something that Chris was almost constantly reminding his friend to do. “What? She’s right. You forget to eat when you get obsessed with a paper or some book.”

“Shut up,” Jensen muttered but waved at the car. He waited until the tail lights were out of view to release a sudden shaky breath. “I bought a house,” he said quietly and then repeated it as if needing to remind himself of what he’d just down. “I own real property.”

“Yeah, and most of it still looks like something Dad and Uncle Jack would advise you to tear down and start over,” Chris retorted, grunting as a small suitcase hit him in the chest. “I carried all the equipment up to that room but left the library of books you brought downstairs until the weekend. I’ll take a better look at the outside of this place in the morning,” he said while grabbing the single duffle he’d packed for the few days he planned to be in Porterville before he had to go back to Boston. “Now, I’m going to see if this place has actual hot water, take a shower… if it works, and go back into this quaint little town to find real food. You coming with me or have I already lost you to the past?” he asked but knew by the faraway look on Jensen’s face that his thoughts were definitely not on food. “Don’t go in that barn until the morning, dude.”

Jensen’s gaze had moved to the barn again as if seeing something there but when he went to take a step toward it a firm hand caught his arm and he heard Chris telling him to wait. “Yeah, okay,” he shook off the odd feeling of eyes on him and the rush of sadness that he couldn’t explain to carry the rest of his luggage inside the house, missing both a worried spirit’s face in the broken barn window as well as a dark shadow just off the side of the old shed.

“Leave him be. He’s innocent,” Jared whispered. He had hidden in the barn since the loud crack of fury sounded earlier but the deep smooth voice speaking in the yard had pulled him back to the barn window to see the men carrying more things inside.

He hadn’t gotten a good look at Jensen yet because Jared wouldn’t come out so long as the other man, the one with the gruffer voice, was near and because he felt the cold evil still lingering. As the door of the house shut for the last time, the young spirit saw the shadow, he felt the rage and knew the danger this new man was in.

“He can’t free you, whelp. He won’t be able to protect himself much less free you. The old bitch thinks he’s the key to breaking the curse? No, because it will take more than some so-called modern scientist to break you free of me. You are mine. This place will be mine again and the blood of one Dr. Jensen Ackles will feed this dirt and strengthen my spell.”

Jared longed for the physical strength he once had, as well as the courage to stand up for himself and for the living man; he didn’t even realize the danger he’d placed himself in just by coming here. Defeated, Jared knew he didn’t have either of those anymore.

Hours later when all the lights went off in the house and Jared no longer felt the malevolent presence, he slipped from the barn and into the home to blink at the amount of boxes littering the kitchen and living room floors.

He rarely came into the house since it still brought back memories of his life here, before it all went wrong, and because he couldn’t understand all the modern things that had been added over the years. Jared paused this time to adjust to the feeling inside the home and had to frown because it felt different than usual when a new family moved in.

The few times he’d entered to get a closer look at whoever had come the home had felt cold, uneasy, almost unsettling, but this night as he took another step, the young spirit was surprised to feel warmth because he never felt temperature changes since his death. He also noticed that the house surrounding them felt… peaceful.

A sound from the living room had Jared looking, eyes seeing that a low-light lamp had been left on by what he’d learned from years of watching and listening was a sofa and noticed the man who’d bought his old home had fallen to sleep on the long, worn out lumpy sofa that had been left by a young couple who’d fled hastily years ago.

Stepping around some boxes, Jared stopped at the foot of the sofa to stare at the sleeping man before kneeling down to get a closer look.

The one good thing about being a ghost in Jared’s mind was it allowed him to get close to people, to watch them, to listen to them, without having to talk or know about things that he didn’t understand or feel uncomfortable. He normally didn’t get this close as he still felt uneasy with people but this night, as he knelt down to gaze at Jensen as he slept, he found himself fascinated by the sleeping man.

As a boy he’d been fascinated by people, both men and women. He’d enjoyed watching the people who’d come to see his father or who stopped to speak with his mother because Jared had come to learn that every person was different in different ways.

When he became a slave to Pastor Welling’s family, Jared had stopped caring about people or observing them because most of the people who came close to him were ones who hurt him or mocked him. As a spirit, once he learned no one but some children could see him, he began to slowly observe them again which is how he managed to keep up with the language and new words used in the modern times.

Tonight, he was fascinated by the light field of freckles he could see scattered on Jensen’s face as well as long eyelashes that seemed longer behind the lenses of the glasses that he’d fallen to sleep in.

Jared bit his lip for a moment, undecided on a sudden burning need to touch the man in some way. He hadn’t touched a living human in over 321 years he refused to think on his two years as a living toy for the pleasure of others as touching another person and as a ghost he had no solid mass in which to touch with. But he could still try to pretend.

He lifted a finger to trace the air instead of the rugged jaw of a man he wished hadn’t come here, because Jared might want free of his curse but he didn’t want to see someone else hurt or suffer. He also found himself wishing he’d met this handsome man when he’d been alive, only to quickly shake his head and reminded himself it was this side of him, this piece of sin, that had helped to make him as evil and wrong as those who took his family.

“Please don’t get hurt,” he whispered while deciding to try to push what little power he had to remove the flimsy looking glasses in case Jensen rolled in his sleep or dropped them. “Jensen.”

The name sounded weird coming off his tongue but still, Jared found that he liked saying it. He was repeating it when he suddenly realized he was hearing his own voice with his ears instead of his mind. That was when sleep heavy green eyes opened to look right at him and even without understanding fully, Jared knew something was different.

“… … Jared?”

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Breaking Free**

**Chapter Three**

“… … Jared?”

Jensen had sat down on the old sofa after he’d moved some books to the second floor, unpacked some of his smaller equipment and decided to look at the book Elena Porter had left with him.

He’d declined Chris’s offer to go into Porterville for dinner and had told the man he could sleep upstairs on the cot he’d brought since Jensen’s new bed wasn’t scheduled for delivery until the weekend. He recalled finding the handwritten journal interesting, even if some of the language or words were hard for him to understand; even someone as schooled in big words, it was jarring to try to read the dialect of something written well over 275 years earlier.

It took Jensen an hour into reading to realize the book had been started by the youngest of the Padalecki children, Helena, once she’d matured and had been told by those who’d taken her in what had happened to her family. He’d gotten about halfway through the book before his tired eyes had started to blur and he must have fallen to sleep with his glasses on, the book falling against his chest.

Before making the choice to move to Porterville, to buy this property, the young Psychologist didn’t pay much attention to his dreams as they’d always been sort of boring and normal to his way of thinking. He used to have dreams of breaking free of his family, of doing something different with his life other than sitting in an office, and even putting to use all the degrees he had to his name.

The oddest dream, until recently, that Jensen could recall having was the one of him settling in Hawaii to grow pineapples with a man he loved… though it had always disturbed him how in all of his dreams that paired him with a man, it was always the same man.

Jensen was not publically out as homosexual. He planned to reveal it once he was settled in a career or had decided what he was going to do: teach or consult; but until then, he’d only revealed it to a few trusted friends and his parents. Though the later was only so they’d know why he was refusing to marry the girl they’d chosen for him.

To dream of the same tall, handsome man in all his dreams… it began to make the psychologist in him start to consider the implications.

Now, since he’d made the choice to start over, to come to Porterville his dreams were more like someone else’s foggy memories. Or… maybe he was dreaming of situations in the past because he’d read too much. Jensen could easily reason it that way— until the dreams started coming with actual pain, actual emotions that he knew weren’t his.

It was only now that Jensen had begun to realize, with growing unease, that his recent dreams might not be dreams but actually leftover emotions and energy from the horrors a young man had faced before death; that he was seeing Jared’s last days even though Jensen had never seen a photo of the man.

The fear, the pain, the shame, even the confusion that he’d been waking up with for the last few months since making the decision to come here, to delve into the curse and the haunting, wasn’t his own inner doubts but something else; something that the professional side of Jensen knew shouldn’t have been possible and yet… another side knew it was happening.

Waking up now from another confusing dream became even more bewildering when Jensen heard a soft voice saying his name and could almost feel a hesitant finger trace down his jaw before he felt his glasses gently eased off his face. Opening his eyes, he looked into big hazel ones that were flecked with golds and blues even in the low light of the living room. There was no immediate surprise in Jensen, nor was there fear as he stared into the face of a young man. A young man he didn’t know but had been seeing in his dreams for a number of years without even realizing it.

“… … Jared?” Jensen looked into the eyes that were looking back at him. Then in a blink of an eye, it dawned on Jensen he was looking at a ghost, had felt the touch of a ghost. Then he was sitting up just as it seemed like the spirit in question was also realizing he was being seen and had his touch felt. “Wait! Jared, wait! Don’t… go,” he said quickly. The young man stumbled back from where he was kneeling beside the sofa, fell back into the old coffee table and actually tipped it over; an act that scared Jared and shocked Jensen, but then a second later the spirit was gone. “Holy shit.”

Stunned at what he’d seen and what had just happened, it looked like the young spirit actually appeared more scared of Jensen than Jensen was of him. It took Jensen only another moment before he was shooting to his feet, digging around a box for a bright flashlight, grabbing his jacket, a small piece of equipment and then bolting out the door without thought of it being night or even waking Chris up to tell him what had just happened.

Elena had warned him not to go to the barn at night but something told Jensen he had to go right then, he had to see if the small meter in his hand picked up anything or if he could see the spirit again… or if he’d really just been dreaming.

“Except I didn’t knock over the coffee table or remove my glasses,” the young psychologist muttered while pulling open the half open barn door. Carefully shining the light around before stepping inside, Jensen noticed the air inside the barn was several degrees colder than even the chilly fall air outside the old structure.

Right then it was difficult to see what was inside the barn, other than old equipment, some boxes and other large shapes that Jensen couldn’t distinguish as the light wasn’t bright enough to shine out farther than right in front of him.

“Jared?” he called while turning on his small EMF meter. Then he cursed his own stupidity because he wasn’t sure if the machine reacted if it would be due to paranormal reasons or some more natural excuse since he hadn’t thought to take base readings earlier of anywhere on the property. “Jared? Can you hear me or see me? My name’s Jensen. I didn’t mean to startle you back in the house.”

Jensen managed another step when the meter in his hand made a noise. He shined his light toward a small spot in the rear of the barn that looked like it had once been a horse stall or something, but it was the stall next to it that had him squinting and starting to take a step forward, only to jump when something on the other side of the structure behind him crashed. “Jesus!” he gasped and whirled to turn the light that way, heart in his throat. “Jared? Is that you? I’m--I’m not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you but… but do--do you think you could let me see you again?” he asked.

Jared couldn’t believe what was happening. In all the years since he’d died, no adult had ever seen him much less _heard_ him. Hell, he couldn’t hear himself! But yet… he thought he had heard his own voice when he’d spoken inside the house.

He’d been shocked when he realized that Jensen could see him when the sleeping man woke up. Then, when he’d fallen backwards and knocked over the table, Jared had gotten both frightened and confused and had gone from the house back to the barn before he even realized it. He’d been trying to figure out what had changed to allow him to form a solid shape to be seen or to be able to move an object instead of going through it when Jensen’s voice spoke from the darkness and a light broke through the inky blackness.

Jensen was a source of confusion and surprise to him. No one ever came to the barn in the daylight, never mind at night. Jared knew the physical dangers this structure held for humans but he also knew the dangers that people might not be able to see as well.

Jared wasn’t sure what to do or how to react since this was all new to him; when he noticed the man’s gaze had gone to the rear of the barn…to the one area that Jared couldn’t let him find this soon, he made something fall on the other side in hopes of scaring Jensen back to the house or to get his attention away from that spot.

When Jensen spoke about not wanting to hurt him or meaning to scare him, Jared was sure it should be the other way around since most people were scared of ghosts, scared of him, even though he’d die again before harming anyone or anything.

The bright light made him cringe away but the little machine Jensen held intrigued him. Jared knew if he stayed still the man would go away which is what he should want, but just as Jensen seemed to getting disappointed at the lack of contact and started to turn away, Jared made a choice that he prayed wouldn’t doom them both.

“You… saw me?”

Jensen went still at the soft, almost hesitant voice that spoke from the darkness. He moved the light but didn’t see the spirit and decided to take even hearing him as a small win. “Yeah, I saw you,” he acknowledged with a nod while placing the EMF meter down on an old crate so he could have his other hand free to nervously run his fingers thru his hair. He supposed he should be frightened to hear a voice but instead he found that he was more anxious than afraid. “I think I also felt you touch me… did you touch my face, Jared?” he asked while deciding not to think about how odd most of his colleagues would find it if they ever learned he was out in a pitch black, run down barn conversing with a ghost of a young Puritan who’d died over 300 years earlier.

“I…” Jared normally could see in the dark but was finding it difficult right then, so he used the glow of the torch in Jensen’s hand to see where he was and where the little machine was sitting before easing a little closer. “I shouldn’t have but… I moved your eyeglasses and then I… I’m sorry I woke you. I didn’t think it would. No one has ever seen or heard me before. Why can you?” he wondered if his voice sounded as loud to Jensen as it did to his own ears, or if it was just because he wasn’t used to hearing it.

“I don’t know,” Jensen admitted honestly while watching the meter move a bit more. “Can you show yourself now or not this soon?” he asked while looking at the darkened area closest to him. He couldn’t see Jared but it was almost as if he could sense he was close. “You were solid enough to knock over the coffee table but that seemed to scare you. Why?”

Jared bit his lower lip while watching Jensen move the light around only to stop to look ahead of him; right where Jared was standing. Only he knew he wasn’t visible, he knew he was too weak to manifest even partially right then.

“I’m never solid. I shouldn’t have been able to do that. I also can’t be heard but you heard me… I hear myself with my ears and that’s not… possible so…” he stopped speaking when a sudden cold chill blew through the barn and Jared inwardly groaned. “You need to go in the house now.”

“Yeah, probably but I’d rather see you again before I…what the hell is that?” Jensen thought he’d heard a change in the spirit’s tone but wasn’t sure. He was going to try to see if he could coax Jared out a little more when suddenly a gust of strong ice cold wind knocked his meter off the crate and actually moved his body. A deep, wet growl was heard from elsewhere and everywhere, almost echoing through the barn. “Crap. I forgot to look up what type of wild life was in these woods… or buy a gun.”

“No. No, you need to go inside now,” Jared looked into the blackness to see the red eyes staring back that Jensen couldn’t see. “He… he doesn’t like you anyway and now that you can see me, hear me… The devil dog can see you. Please, Jensen. Go inside.”

Jensen had done loads of research on old lore about types of animals used by witches or demons to do their bidding. The most notable one was the Devil Dog that had countless tales told about it. He hadn’t put much stock in those stories until he heard the growl a second time, and this time swore he felt a wave of oppressive energy so strong that it nearly knocked him down.

Bending down to pick up his meter, Jensen shined the light around and cursed as it reflected off of something in the rear of the barn; something large and hunched over or on four legs. “Out of curiosity… what does this devil dog look like?” he asked with a lot more calm than Jensen really thought he should have right then. “Is it big, ugly, and frothing at the mouth with big sharp teeth and red glowing eyes?”

“Yes and it will… wait. You can see it?” Jared’s fear for Jensen increased with this news because no one, not even the children or pets that had seen him, had ever seen or heard the dark creature before. He noticed where the man was looking and was glad he wasn’t solid or else his knees would be shaking in fright. “Get out,” he whispered while watching the creature look at the human with unadulterated hate. “You shouldn’t be able to see it. If you can then that means… Jensen, run!”

Jensen couldn’t see all of the beast, just an outline and glimpses; but if what he was seeing was real, than that just added weight to all the so-called lore and myths that surrounded this place and the curse that went with it. He needed to seriously pull back to consider just why he was seeing and hearing things no one else had before him.

The red eyes pinned him as he started to stand and it was like a fist of ice went through his chest, making him gasp in pain. He heard Jared shout for him to run just as a howl could be heard and then, just as Jensen thought he saw red eyes and sharp teeth lunge for him, he felt something hit him, knocking him to the side, just as a cold breeze shot by him and a scream of pain was actually heard; a scream of pain that Jensen also felt in his heart.

“Jared!” he shouted as he tried to get to his knees, scrambling to search for the flashlight he’d dropped to try to find any signs of a struggle as he’d heard growls, snarls and another cry of pain as the young spirit once again told him to run, to get away. Then, suddenly, the sounds stopped and the once crazy EMF fell eerily silent. “Jared? Jared! Where are you? What’s…”

“What the hell is going on out here?” Chris Kane’s voice demanded from the door where he stood with a bigger light and the rifle that had been in the house. “Dude! Every piece of equipment that you’d hooked up just went into overdrive! What the hell are you doing out here at night anyway? Jensen?”

Jensen grabbed the larger light from Chris’ hand to shine it where he’d heard the last of the sounds but there was nothing to be seen with his eyes or his EMF meter. “Jared? Jared! Are you still here?” he asked, worry evident in his voice while ignoring his friend behind him.

The barn was ice cold now but as he stood there to try to listen for any sounds, or to try to feel Jared again like he thought he had earlier, the temperature slowly began to return to almost normal. He somehow knew the ghost was either too weak to show a sign or was hiding out of fear: either for himself or Jensen. Maybe Chris’s sudden appearance had frightened the spirit back into hiding.

“Jensen?” Chris watched his friend closely as he shined the light around and called out for what he was guessing was the ghost that was supposed to be there.

Chris had been woken up by the beeps, squeals, and other noises of the machines. He’d never heard them actually make noise and hadn’t ever expected for them to, honestly. Then when he went downstairs to see the coffee table turned over, books on the floor, and Jensen nowhere to be found, the man’s concern notched up. But when he got to the barn where he’d almost instinctively known to go, it really went up.

He’d thought he’d heard a howl while in the house so he’d grabbed the rifle that the old woman had left there just in case a wolf or some other form of wildlife had gotten into the barn and was trying to attack Jensen. Now he wasn’t sure what to think as he didn’t see any animal, didn’t hear anymore noises other than his friend calling to a ghost in an empty silent barn.

“Jensen? Jensen!” he finally snapped while grabbing for his friend’s shoulder to pull him back a bit only to frown when he was shoved. “Jensen!”

“No! He pushed me out of the way of that… that thing. It attacked him, Chris!” Jensen knew he sounded crazy. He knew if Chris had been one of his professors or his colleagues, he’d be locked up in a hospital for a psych evaluation. Jensen was _positive_ of what he’d seen as well as felt and heard. He was also positive that whatever that creature was had hurt the young spirit and that first thing in the morning, he was bringing out more equipment to try to find a way to lock onto Jared or coax him back around.

“What attacked who?” Chris wasn’t so sure this was so amusing now. At first he’d humored Jensen’s decision to come to Massachusetts and ghost hunt, because he didn’t think his friend would actually find anything. Now that things were looking like he might have actually stumbled onto the real deal, he was worried. “What happened to the coffee table inside?” he was asking as Jensen finally left the barn to storm into the house and immediately ran upstairs to look at the equipment. “Jensen, what the hell is going on?”

Jensen stared at his equipment to see that some had recorded readings off the chart, while one was still smoking where it had shorted out and guessed that must have been around the time when the thing with red eyes had appeared.

“I… I woke up to hearing him say my name, Chris,” he said quietly even though he knew his friend would never believe him. “I felt this light touch on my face and I opened my eyes to see these big hazel eyes staring back at me. But… I think being seen by me, being heard and felt, scared him, so he fell back and knocked the table over.” He read a printout to see the one device had registered multiple energy readings. “He vanished so I went to the barn and… I couldn’t see him but I _heard_ him. Jared’s confused because I can see him… I’m confused,” he turned to see his friend staring at him.

“The dreams I’ve been having lately, the ones I haven’t told you or anyone about? I think they’re his life. I… I think I was meant to come here, to learn what happened to him so I can break the curse and free him. Maybe that’s why I can see him and hear him when no one else could. Maybe that’s why I could see that goddamn mutt with red eyes too! Whoever’s keeping Jared here doesn’t want me to help him.” Jensen reset the equipment he’d already set up and then went to work trying to unpack the other items so he could set them up in the morning. He was suddenly so tired and his arm was aching where it had hit the ground after being pushed. “You think I’m crazy, right?”

Chris pulled a chair out to straddle it while eyeing Jensen for a long moment. “I thought you were crazy when I met you and found out you’d already graduated from Princeton but were trying to get through Berkley as well,” he shrugged with a grin. “Do I believe in ghosts? No, and I probably won’t until I see one. Do I believe you saw this ghost? Yeah, because I know you and know you’re too much of a clinical thinker to say you saw something, or heard it, if you didn’t. Now ask me if I’m worried about some red-eyed monster trying to attack you, because I’m really worried about that.”

In truth, so was Jensen. He’d always heard that ghosts couldn’t hurt the living because there was no substance to them. Oh, he’d seen the horror movies but hadn’t put any stock in that since it was fiction. Of course, Jared hadn’t tried to hurt him… the creature doing the bidding on whoever put the curse on both Jared and this land; a witch that still must hold some power despite the years had been what had tried to attack him and what he feared had attacked the spirit.

Of course Jensen didn’t know if a spirit could be hurt since Jared’s body wasn’t solid… or it shouldn’t be or hadn’t been, except for that one time when he bumped into the coffee table. Except it sure sounded like Jared had been in pain as well as scared, so both of those things made him determined to not only locate the spirit the next day but also dig into the background of both the land the house sat on and the families involved in what he was quickly coming to understand was a lot more than believed or reported.

“He pushed me out of the way of that thing, Chris. He…” Jensen stopped what he was doing to squeeze the bridge of his nose, eyes and head aching because he’d been reading the monitors without his glasses. “He looked so scared earlier when he realized I could see him and then before that… he just looked… young and sad. I want to help him.”

“Yeah, I figured as much,” Chris wasn’t surprised by that as he knew his friend; despite seeming cold or aloof to many, Jensen actually cared a great deal about a great many things; a little too much if Chris were honest. He’d seen Jensen get hurt a few times when trying to help someone who’d just been too far gone to be helped. “Y’know I can’t stay here to watch your back,” he said grimly. “Sunday night I need to head back to Boston and probably won’t get back out here until the weekend, depending on things. I don’t like leaving you here alone, Jensen.”

“I’m not alone though and I don’t fear Jared, Chris,” Jensen heard the sound of what he knew was Chris’s head hitting the wall as he banged it in frustration. “I know what you mean and I swear to take precautions against this curse or whatever it is. I’ll dig into the kind it is or if I can get Jared to appear or talk to me he might be able to tell me what the witch who put it on said to him about it so I can break it and free him.”

“Free him to what?” Chris asked curiously once he was finished banging his head against the wall in a way to object to Jensen’s plan. “Even if you can break the curse, you don’t know if that will free him to move on or find the so-called white light. Jensen, you’ve read some books and talked to some people… you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. This might be something you can’t handle.”

Jensen walked to a window in the room to peer down at the dark yard and barn. He let his eyes trail to the large tree and he thought he caught a glimpse of a white mist but with a blink, it was gone. “When I was 16 and stepped into Princeton, people told me that I couldn’t handle it because ‘I might be smart but not world smart’ as one teacher put it. I proved her wrong,” he turned to look at his friend seriously. “When I decided to get another Doctorate, this time in Environmental Psychology, my father told me I couldn’t handle Berkley because I wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure of people judging me for being too smart or arrogant.

“All my life from the day a stupid teacher pointed out to my parents that I was so bored in school because I was really two years behind where I could be if they moved me up, I have had people judging me, Chris. You judged me based on what other people on campus told you about me,” Jensen had always known that because he’d known what people took his shyness and lack of socializing for. “Do you know the real reason I made the choice to move away from California, away from my parents and that life they were so neatly building for me?” he asked while leaving the room to cross into the next one, the room that he decided he’d make his bedroom once his bed arrived.

“It wasn’t just because Mom and Dad tried to force me into marrying Carla or their pushing me into settling into a practice with one of their ‘friends’. It was because they said I couldn’t handle real life outside of their influence. That I couldn’t survive if I continued on this ‘gay’ path I was on or my pipedream to prove the paranormal existed.” Jensen hadn’t realized he’d clenched his fists until he felt his arm hurt. “I am so tired of people telling me what I can’t handle.

“I am 28 years old. I hold two Bachelors, a Masters and three goddamn Doctorates. I have both a Psy.D. and a Ph.D. in the damn field and I still don’t feel comfortable having a conversation with strangers on the street because most of what I know would bore them to tears. So maybe I want to take a risk, maybe I want to try something out of my comfort zone. And if that means trying to help a ghost to be free to go into the light then that’s what I’ll do. One of us should be happy and it sure as hell hasn’t been me for the last 20 years!” he stopped to take a shaky breath and only then started to realize he’d been yelling. “I’m…” he started to apologize only to stop again. “Wow. That felt… good to say. Sorry you got all that shouted at you though.”

Chris had started to butt in a couple times only to finally stop and let Jensen vent like he doubted he ever had before. There’d only been one time in their friendship that he could recall ever seeing the man lose his temper and raise his voice. That had been when he’d learned his parents had already arranged his engagement to some young woman he’d only met twice and barely liked as a person.

He wasn’t surprised to hear that was how Jensen felt or that was why he’d made the choices he had lately. As someone who’d rebelled against his family and their desires for him to follow in his father’s footsteps rather than pursue his own dreams, Chris was only too aware of how it felt to be pushed into a position he didn’t want. Then again, his family also yelled and threw tools when upset.

Jensen wasn’t brought up to yell or rebel. He was brought up to listen and obey his wealthy parents, to do the proper things someone with his education should do; to hear him reacting like this was both surprising and a little worrisome to Chris.

“I’m your friend, Jensen. I’m not saying you can’t handle it… I’m just trying to say… be careful,” Chris finally responded and gave a tense shoulder a light slap. “You want the cot or the sofa to try to sleep?”

Neither was very comfortable but Jensen decided to try the sofa again, while silently hoping that maybe Jared would feel comfortable to make a return appearance. He gave his equipment another look before letting Chris try to get back to sleep. He figured if he couldn’t sleep then he’d finish reading that book to see if maybe anything had been written that he could use in his quest to help Jared.

Jensen had sat down with the book but instead of reaching for his glasses he let his head rest on the back of the sofa and let his eyes drift shut. He let his mind relax and try to bring back into focus the boyish handsome face he’d seen earlier.

“Jared,” he murmured into the quiet dark when he had a sudden smell of lilac’s that got so strong he actually coughed and waved a hand only to feel something in his surrounding had changed. “Huh. Okay. So maybe I should evaluate myself.”

As a trained Psychologist, Jensen knew certain smells, sounds, or even images could trigger someone’s memory of another time or place. He had a couple experiences like that as a child after his great-grandmother passed away but had since learned to ignore it.

Now as he opened his eyes he saw that he wasn’t in the living room on the sofa but in the middle of the yard by the huge tree in bright daylight; the scientist in Jensen knew he was dreaming while the other side of him wondered if there might not be more to it, especially when he heard his name spoken.

“Hello, Jensen.”

Expecting Jared’s soft voice if he heard any sound, the quiet very New England sounding female voice took him off guard. Almost as much as the sight of the woman standing beside the tree as if waiting for him did.

Since arriving at the property, Jensen had thought he’d seen a shadow or a silhouette but had ignored it as his imagination. Now he had to ask himself if maybe Jared wasn’t the only spirit haunting this land as he looked at the woman to try to burn her image into his head for later recall.

She was in her middle to late 40’s with dark brown hair pulled back but not under a bonnet like most women of that time had worn. The dress and shoes also gave away the time period; Jensen had a hunch who this was but not why he was dreaming of her.

“Mrs. Padalecki?” he asked to be sure and saw her smile.

“Even my family had difficulty saying my husband’s name,” Sarah Padalecki remarked from where she stood to watch the young modern man. “You think you’re dreaming.”

“Aren’t I?” Jensen grinned while looking around to see the land, the house, the whole area looked different than it did now and he began to feel a little odd about what this might actually be. “I was hoping to dream of your son, I did fall to sleep. People say Jared haunts this land because he’s stuck here… do you haunt it as well?”

The young Puritan mother of four shook her head, hand on the tree. “No, I don’t haunt it as much as I merely wait for justice,” she replied and motioned him to come closer. “I mean you no harm, Jensen. There is only one who will intend harm for you and I hope you’re strong enough to withstand him and his evil so that maybe justice can be done.”

“How can a witch who should’ve died years ago be a threat to me now, other than the curse?” Jensen asked while stepping closer to the woman. “What justice are you waiting for?”

“Elena told you some of the history of our family. She told you how my daughters, all save for Helena, and I were killed on this property under the false accusations of witchcraft,” Sarah gazed at the tree for a long moment before looking back at Jensen. “No one in my family were witches, even though I knew the folk medicine and the healing ways of my family. My family, even today, still knows those ways; Elena knows the old cures and folk remedies so keep that in mind for later.

“I died at this tree,” Sarah watched Jensen’s face as he began to put the pieces together. “Pastor Welling was another of those religious men who used the Lord’s words for his own purposes. He was overshadowed in Salem, so when he moved his family here, he immediately cemented his place in the small Church my father built. He preached fire and brimstone and scared even the most logical thinking villager in Porterville that a birthmark, a scar… or modern medicine as actual physicians used back then, were a mark of the Devil.

“He, like so many others, used the fear of witchcraft to gain what he wanted when he couldn’t acquire it another way. Land was so often a prime reason for accusations or jealously or… desire,” she gazed toward the barn, that in this image, looked whole and fresh. But Jensen could almost feel the darkness around that area. “Pastor Welling was angry that my father gave this land to my husband for our family when we moved here instead of giving it to him. He’d demanded it be donated, but as I would learn shortly before the witch hunters came pounding on my door after my poor husband’s murder, it wasn’t lust for property that caused this travesty to happen but a lust of the flesh.”

Jensen had been staring toward the barn while trying to recall things he’d read or been told when a cold feeling shot through him that he couldn’t explain. “I guess lust, desire; jealousy still existed even in a Puritan time even if it wasn’t mentioned a lot. Someone in the Pastor’s house wanted one of your older daughters or…”

Sarah’s smile turned sad as she shook her head. “No, it wasn’t my daughters that had gained the attention of the Pastor’s son but there was one other thing that wasn’t spoken of much in a Puritan house, even though we all knew it existed. It was looked on as a sin, a mark of evil and of course well hidden given that Pastor Welling and his wife would never have let it be known that their precious and perfect son lusted after the flesh and innocence of another man.”

“Jared,” Jensen’s blood went cold as now something he’d read in the book left by Elena Porter made more sense. “The Pastor’s son… Elena said something about the evil came from the Pastor’s house. His son was the witch and he accused your family so he could… what? So his son could have access to Jared? Is that why Jared was cursed when he died?”

“The Pastor’s son was an arrogant, proud boy. Even in Salem he caused trouble but his sins were forgiven because of who his father was. When we moved here, when the land wasn’t given to them, he turned his anger and then obsession to my son,” Sarah’s lips thinned as another icy breeze blew around them but Jensen wasn’t sure if it was dark energy or an unhappy mother’s spirit. “Jared was naïve. He was as educated as our daughters but it was plain to both Stephen and I that our son was different.”

“Jared was gay,” Jensen felt a low burning along his calf that seemed out of place but ignored it in favor of hoping he recalled all this data for later. “The Pastor’s son… he wanted Jared but… did Jared turn him down or did he even understand those feelings?” he asked while hearing something that he couldn’t quite make out yet.

“Because his father came from a different background and understood more about things than I did, Stephen explained to Jared that his feelings were normal but because of living where we did, they should be kept hidden,” Sarah replied as she watched Jensen’s face tighten as he seemed to be distracted by something. “Jared didn’t understand it. He still thought how he felt made him a target for evil and it was that belief that also made him an easy target for the real evil in our midst.

“When my son refused this man’s advances the first time, when my husband told the Pastor to keep his uncontrolled son away from Jared or he’d inform the town council of his little secret, was when Stephen fell ill. I knew the cause and I also knew I had to get my son out of Porterville to save him because the evil, the obsession in which this man watched my poor son, was so intense even my brothers noticed and commented on it. But it was too late.

“I knew the reason and why the lies were laid on my family but of course no one would have believed me, because one look at them, the Welling family, was the perfect model of Puritan perfection. To give his son what he desired most, my son, the Pastor made up charges against my daughters and I. No trial was given. My family had no chance to argue a defense because by the time my parents learned of the accusations, my oldest two were dead and I was hanging from a rope.

“There was no way to save Jared from his fate as a slave to the Pastor’s family because the Sheriff’s mind had been ensnared by a spell. Rather than waste a strong back, he was forced to work the land that had been ours, that the Welling’s finally gained control of, until finally he died. But even in death the evil witch would not lose control,” Sarah looked up at the tree before looking at Jensen. “Before I was hung, I laid out a curse on those who’d hurt my family, but most importantly the evil man whose sick obsession would claim my son. He would face justice by my hand one day. His evil might be powerful but I knew one day I would find a power to match it and on that day, he would go meet Satan in more agony than he ever had known.

“Jared suffered two years under the Pastor’s whip but it was the damage his son did that truly took my son’s life. It was the power of his spells, and now his curse, that keep Jared bound here; trapped, scared, and confused because the witch is not dead, Jensen,” the woman’s spirit revealed sadly. “So long as Jared’s spirit resides on this land, so long as his curse remains unbroken, he will be a threat to not only Jared’s ghost or to you, but to all who reside in Porterville.”

Jensen felt cold as he took this news in. He hadn’t believed in ghosts or curses when he arrived here so he hadn’t really believed in witches or their power either, despite having met a few who claimed to be witches. Now he was beginning to think he might have bitten off more than he could chew. He gasped as searing pain went through him and this time he definitely heard his name being shouted from somewhere.

Gentle hands touched his face as the woman stared at him calmly. “I know you have your fears and doubts but you were brought here for a reason, Jensen Ackles. As odd as it might be for you to believe, you are who my son has been waiting for because if anyone can break this curse and free Jared’s soul, it will be you.”

“How? I don’t even know if I’ll see him again.” Jensen said but felt a little dizzy, hand going to the tree to keep his balance and was suddenly deluged with a rush of emotion and images that gave him more of the story of what had taken place over 300 years ago than any book ever could. “Oh my God.”

“The horrors inflicted on my son in the name of ‘purifying’ him and no one in town could or would risk confronting or stopping the Pastor or his son out of fear,” Sarah’s voice was bitter as she watched Jensen’s face go pale and then angry. “No one but Jared can say what else happened to him in the barn or that shed because my spirit couldn’t go to those places, but if you’re sincere in your desire to help him then you shall see Jared again. In fact… I think you should wake up now. Your… friend seems very upset.”

“Huh?” Jensen blinked and started to turn when suddenly he felt his body jerk as if he was being shaken and his eyes snapped up to see a freaked out Chris standing in front of the sofa where he was still sitting. “Okay… that was… weird.”

“Dude! Wake the fuck up and I’ll show you something weirder!” Chris had just been about to slap his friend when after 10 minutes of shaking him hadn’t brought Jensen around. “Jensen! Wake up because this is now officially out of my league!”

Jensen was still shaking himself out of the dream like trance and he could still smell the lilacs, could still feel the burning pain he’d felt there. “What’s wrong?” he asked as he started to stand up only to freeze in place when his gaze moved across the living room to where the original huge stone fireplace was. “Oh my…”

“Your machines went insane, woke me up again, so I came down to get you only to find you in some kind of trance like sleep or something and… then I found… that,” Chris made no move to go toward the fireplace or the badly shaking body that appeared curled into a near fetal position as close to the unlit fireplace as it could get right then. “I swear I heard him crying for you but then he saw me and things went weird, like I scared him or… Jensen, is that…”

“Jared,” Jensen fought his initial urge to rush across the living room. He knew if he startled or scared the spirit that it might take him more time to get Jared to reappear again so he tried to go slow when he crossed the room.

It looked to him like Jared was reacting like a human would if cold and trying to find heat from a source that he’d known had once supplied it. Kneeling down, Jensen saw that Jared had drawn his long legs up close to his chest while his arms were wrapped around them as if to protect himself.

He started to speak when a streak of red on the floor caught his attention and he instinctively reached to touch it as he hadn’t recalled the wood floor being stained before. Then it was like he’d been punched in the gut as his fingertips came up sticky with what Jensen knew to be blood… real blood, as if someone was bleeding. Except he knew that couldn’t be possible because the only one over here was Jared and Jared wasn’t…

“Jared?” he reached out a hand like he would normally when trying to soothe someone who was scared or might be hurt, forgetting that his hand couldn’t touch the young spirit only to get the shock of his life the moment his hand touched an actual shoulder and then his hand was caught by shaking, weak ice cold fingers; fingers covered in fresh. “Oh my God.”

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Breaking Free**

**Chapter Four**

The shock of touching a shoulder that Jensen Ackles knew he shouldn’t have been able to was one thing. When his hand was caught by weak, cold, bloody fingers… the young psychologist figured his brain had shut down. It was a soft whisper that trying to speak to him and the words that finally penetrated that had him snapping back.  

“…J-Jensen… help…”

“Jared? Hey, can you hear me? Can you look at me?” Jensen eased his other hand around, trying to shift the young man toward him instead of facing the fireplace with his back to the living room. “Jared? Can you… holy shit! Chris! Get me a blanket or something! He’s in shock,” he called back to his friend while slowly coaxing Jared’s tense body towards him enough to get his first look at where the blood was coming from. “Damn it. He’s been torn up. That thing last night… it… it must’ve done this to him but…”

Chris wasn’t sure what was happening or how it was happening but he’d grabbed a blanket to hand Jensen, frowning when both he and Jensen saw the solid figure start to shimmer; as if Jared was having a hard time holding his form with Chris close. “Jensen?”

“Back away a second,” Jensen said and saw the second that Chris stepped back across the room that Jared was solid again; realizing that maybe when the boy got scared, he lost whatever was making him able to be solid or maybe he could only be solid if Jensen was with him. “Okay, here’s my plan,” he began, quickly wrapping the blanket around the shuddering form that had finally turned towards Jensen and seemed to be trying to crawl closer to him --either for comfort or body heat, Jensen couldn’t tell. “First, go outside and try to see if you can get up on the roof long enough to check the flue. That way, if we have to light this thing we won’t have to worry about burning this place down. Then, go into town and see is Miss Porter can come back out with you. I think… I’m hoping she’ll be able to tell me how to clean these wounds or treat them so he’ll stop bleeding.”

“Jensen, he shouldn’t be bleeding in the first place,” Chris needed to point out; he needed to try to get the logical side of Jensen to surface so he could see just how weird this was. “Ghosts don’t bleed! If this is the ghost of the kid haunting this place, the one you saw last night, or heard, or whatever the hell happened, then he cannot be bleeding on the living room floor or able to be touched. So who the hell is this?” he demanded.

Chris didn’t believe in ghosts and he also didn’t know who this young man was, much less how he’d gotten into the house, or how he seemed to know Jensen’s name. The suspicious side of Chris Kane was in high gear but the moment he raised his voice or took a step, he saw that some of the solidness of the strange boy seemed to falter. “Son of a bitch.”

“Go check the chimney, Chris,” Jensen repeated, giving the man a sharp look that was also new for the normally casual and calm psychologist. “Please? I… I don’t have answers for you yet but he’s scared and he’s hurt and you’re scaring him more.”

“I’m scaring him?” Chris wanted to shake Jensen but couldn’t deny that it did certainly seem that way. Every time he got too close or his tone raised or dropped the shaking body that was now almost close enough to wrap long, bruised and scratched up arms around Jensen’s waist faded a little. “Okay, okay. I’ll go check the chimney which will also allow me to check the roof. Just… be careful?”

Jensen nodded. He waited until he heard the door shut before giving his full attention back to the shaking young man beside him. “Jared? Can you look at me? I need to move to get some stuff to try to clean these marks so we can see how bad you’re bleeding. I’ll work on the _how_ you’re solid enough to bleed after I get it stopped. If… if I move just to the kitchen, will you… stay?” he knew he was babbling but Jensen was on the verge of a total and very rare freak-out and really didn’t care if he sounded crazy.

“C… cold… so cold,” Jared’s voice was barely above a whisper. It sounded strained as if… as if the boy had forgotten how to speak and Jensen wondered if that could be another issue given that he doubted as a ghost that Jared had talked with vocal cords.

“Shhh, I know you are, sweetheart, I know you are. Just hang on and I’ll get you warm,” Jensen wasn’t sure how since he needed to find out what kind of heat the house had, but then he heard Chris’s voice call from the fireplace that it looked good and safe to use. “Great. Now I just have to figure out how to make a fire in it.”

The fireplace in his parents’ home, as well as his own condo, had been gas so all he’d ever had to do was flip a switch. This one required actual wood or something to start it with, which Jensen realized was beyond his skill level. “Hey! What kind of stuff can I burn in this thing?” he called back up since he could hear Chris still near the chimney.

“Do not touch it. I’ll build one when I get back inside!” Chris knew Jensen would never last here alone once he went back to Boston the next evening. “Can you get him to the sofa by yourself?”

“Yeah, I can do that. Go see if Miss Porter’s home!” he called back up while looking down to carefully card his fingers back through grimy, dirty, long, dark hair until he could see the pale, battered face that had a long angry cut down one cheek. For Jensen, the more horrifying was the bruise on Jared’s throat. It looked like it had come from a collar or something similar. “Jared? I’m going to move you… just to the sofa. Okay?”

Jared didn’t give an actual verbal reply as it seemed like he was slipping unconscious but the tiny whimper Jensen heard was close enough. He hoped moving the obviously injured young man wouldn’t make things worse; not that Jensen saw how it could get worse for them.

Jensen didn’t take the time to get a better look Jared’s wounds as he worked to pick the young man up in his arms, rather than try to get him to his feet to move him that way. It startled him how light he felt given that he could tell Jared had to be tall; once he laid him gently on the sofa, he swore the kid was all leg and knew he was probably a few inches taller than he was, most certainly taller than Chris.

He was focusing on finding a container to put hot water in to clean the bloody marks so he didn’t hear the sound of Chris’s truck leaving. By the time it returned, not more than 20 minutes later, Jensen’s heart was in his throat and his stomach in knots from what he’d seen on the skinny, battered body.

Before making his run into town, Chris had come in long enough to get the fireplace going with wood he’d located on the side of the house under a tarp; dry and perfect for burning. The living room was now warm enough that Jensen was sweating and had tossed his button down shirt aside so he that was just wearing his short sleeve shirt.

Jensen noticed that while Jared was sweating, he was also still shaking badly. He felt the young man’s skin, noting it seemed hot from a fever… another thing that Jensen didn’t know how to treat because while he had basic First-Aid and medical skills, he didn’t know if any of that would work on what should’ve been a ghost.

Once Chris had gone, Jensen went to work on removing the filthy and tattered clothes from Jared’s body so he could see where he was bleeding from and how badly he was hurt.

It would later occur to Jensen that the clothes weren’t modern and didn’t even _feel_ modern. The long sleeved shirt and tweed like trousers were so old and filthy with caked, dried mud and God knew what else. He swore the pants would probably stand on their own if he hadn’t tossed them across the room in a fit of anger at seeing the first very real and very bloody gash on Jared’s upper calf.

Jared tensed and cried out softly at the first touch of the soft, wet cloth on his skin but Jensen figured the boy would be scared of any touch if what he’d dreamed earlier was true. He wondered if Jared’s skin would be sensitive to touch as well, so he gentled his touch even more as he tried to clean the worst of the dirt away from the bleeding scratches. They didn’t look deep enough to need stitches but still looked messy and painful.

“Jared,” he murmured while running the tip of the wet cloth down a pale cheek to take his first good look at Jared to see that under the dirt, the bruises and other signs of abuse suffered 321 years earlier, Jensen could see what had been and probably could still be a boyishly handsome young man. He suspected, if his dreams were correct, there were dimples when he smiled.

The sound of the door opening and then a soft gasp had Jensen looking up to see Elena Porter standing in the doorway, staring between him and the unconscious Jared. “Okay so this might seem a little weird; what I’ll say will seem weirder… but I dreamed of his mother before waking up to this… and she said you’d been taught the old folk remedies that I’m thinking might help me heal these wounds that I think he got last night by some damn mutt with red eyes that tried to eat me,” he ignored Chris’s choking curses to stare at the older woman. “Please? Can you help him?”

Elena placed a small satchel on the table and began to remove several items. “Of course I will, child,” she replied. She busied herself with the objects and told Chris what items to get from the bathroom upstairs and to start some boiling water; she went over to look down at Jared with pursed lips. “You say you think he got these fresh cuts how?” She asked while sitting on the edge of the coffee table after getting fresh warm water. She poured some antiseptic in to help fight off any infection.

“I didn’t see the thing except the outline and the red eyes. But Jared called it a devil dog and when it lunged he knocked me out of the way, or I think he did because I… I couldn’t see him then. I saw him in the house last night though and I felt him and heard him and now he’s… solid,” Jensen’s fingers curled around the hand laying on the sofa, squeezing it on instinct. He watched Jared’s face tense as the cleansing water now burned the cuts; Jensen was glad he stayed asleep. “He… goes less solid if Chris comes close so I think if he gets scared he can’t hold the form or… something happens. I really don’t know, Miss. Porter. I… this is so beyond me.”

“No. You are doing everything you were brought here to do, Jensen,” she remarked as she set to work to clean the wounds and then, in a small wooden bowl that she’d brought with her, she made some type of cream to smooth over the gashes before dressing them lightly. “You’ve heard him?”

Jensen nodded, writing a list of things for Chris to go get in town for later. “I think it scared him that I could and that I saw him because when I went out to the barn last night after he vanished from the house he couldn’t manifest. Then that thing showed up and… in a dream I saw his mother and she said the witch was still alive. Is that true?” he asked and knew by the way her face tightened that it was. “Okay. So I have a ghost that can turn solid, a mutt with red eyes, a curse and now a witch that really needs to die. You left a lot out of that story when we first met.”

“No one listens to an old woman, Jensen,” Elena replied as she dressed the last gash on Jared’s side before sitting back to stare at the young man who appeared to be resting a little easier. “You’re a professional skeptic. Would you have listened to me if I had told you that the evil witch that had cursed this poor boy and this land was still alive and still causing Jared pain?”

“Good point,” Jensen knew he probably wouldn’t have but now was at a loss to what he was expected to do. “This witch… is he… why is he still alive? Most witches aren’t immortal.”

“His obsession with Jared, as well as with getting this land, keeps him alive but he also draws on the fear he knows the town still feels for the old legend,” Elena told him grimly, going on after she’d packed up her things and then stoked the fire; Jared was still shivering despite the heat. “If the curse holding Jared here is broken then his power will be useless and he will go away but…he will do whatever he can to chase you off this land, Jensen; now especially, so you must be extra careful. Have you gone to the attic yet?”

The question seemed out of place and Jensen had to bring his thoughts around off of where he’d been gazing at a sleeping Jared to look at her. “No, not yet. Why?” he asked, confused.

“My great-grandmother told me that the attic was the only place in this house the evil of the witch couldn’t touch. They think it was because it was Dr. Padalecki’s office, where he saw patients or did work, so he might’ve blessed it with something that can’t be crossed,” Elena explained. “Very few of my family ever went up there so it’s probably dusty as I didn’t get to clean up there yet for you, but… if you can get Jared to the attic and if that evil monster tries to affect him in this solid state, he might be safe up there. You can try if you want to.”

“Thank you again,” Jensen told her softly while trying to focus on the list she wrote out for him with more instructions.  “Do I keep that cream on them or how should we care for them or for him?”

“Let him rest today and then tomorrow, if he’s still able to maintain a solid form, let him shower or bathe and then put that cream on the cuts. It’ll keep the infection away as well as draw out any poison that might have been passed from the creature or its master,” Elena replied once Chris helped her into the truck. “Jensen?” she called before Chris put the truck into reverse. “Only Jared knows the exact nature of the curse. If you can find that out? Then you’ll be well on your way to learning how to break it. Just remember to be careful and don’t let that Welling ass in your house.”

Jensen was fairly certain that he wasn’t allowing Tom Welling or _any_ Welling on the property until he learned who the witch was hiding behind or physically was in this modern time, but he reassured Elena that he’d be fine and that he’d take care of Jared.

As it turned out, taking care of Jared wasn’t hard as he slept deeply and while it wasn’t a totally peaceful sleep, he didn’t tense or cry out like Jensen thought he might. He even slept through Jensen slipping him into the new underwear and a soft pair of sweatpants that he’d told Chris to buy so they’d have something for Jared to wear until he woke up more… and hopefully continue to remain solid.

Chris returned with a truck load of supplies; everything from food and cleaning supplies to medical supplies, as well as clothes that he’d guessed at a size until Jensen could see if Jared would remain in this state or what size he might wear. He wanted to try to get as much as he could so Jensen wouldn’t have to try to leave the property right away.

“Dad called. He wants to know if I can come back tonight,” he told his friend from where they sat at the kitchen table splitting a pizza Chris had picked up for dinner that night. “Dude, this sucks. You have no idea what you’re into or how he’ll be when he wakes up. I don’t like leaving you here alone.”

Jensen’s gaze moved to the living room where Jared still slept on the sofa as if he hadn’t slept in years which, in some way, Jensen guessed maybe he hadn’t. “I don’t fear Jared, Chris. And I can take care of him against whatever some asshole witch thinks he can do,” he smirked with a little more confidence than he really felt. “He’s got some old magic and I’ve got modern day science on my side. We’ll be fine until you get back and if anything happens I’ll…”

“You’ll get your ass in that SUV and get the hell out of here?” Chris challenged; he already knew by the way Jensen’s jaw tightened that his friend wouldn’t leave now unless he was carried out on a stretcher and that was something Chris did not want to see happen. “Fine. Call me if anything happens?”

“Yeah, I will do that,” Jensen promised his friend. After Chris left to return to Boston, he pulled out a small book that a friend had given him before he left California, and proceeded to follow the directions in warding the doors and windows of the house, something that he’d scoffed at Gen for doing to her apartment doors and windows, but now he’d take any kind of protection to try to keep the power that still resided on this land away from the sleeping young man on his sofa.

After he checked all the windows as well as the two doors, Jensen went back to the living room to sit on the edge of the old sofa. He lightly touched a slightly cooler cheek with his fingertips. “I’ll save you Jared,” he murmured softly. “I’ll find a way to break you free of this curse and I’ll keep you safe from this witch until I do.”

Jensen brought another blanket from upstairs to gently place it over the sleeping young man before settling in a chair that he moved closer to the sofa. He’d turned the radio on to have some noise; one thing bothered Jensen was complete silence, so he left it on some soft rock station. Jensen began pouring over books on lore and myth that he had unpacked the day before, as well as other books he’d brought on the area, also pulling out his notebook to write down what he could recall from his dream the night before.

A few hours later when his eyes started to burn and blur, Jensen pulled his glasses off to rub a hand over them and instantly felt like he was being watched. His eyes darted over but a look showed that Jared was still sleeping. “Don’t like those sigils do you, asshole?” he smirked as he heard a sound by the far window only to then hear a howl like sound in the distance.

Placing the book face down to mark his spot, the psychologist walked to the window to peer out into the inky blackness. It was cloudy that night so there were few stars out but Jensen didn’t need any light to see the pair of red eyes from just down the gravel driveway, making him decide that as soon as it was light, he was also using another thing Gen showed him on the property line.

Jensen wasn’t sure of the exact nature of the witch or his beast so he wasn’t sure if it would hear him as he laid a hand on the cool glass of the window. “You will not hurt this boy anymore. He is not yours to abuse or torment any longer. I will break your curse. I will free him and I will see justice done against you for the pain you’ve caused, not only Jared but his family as well. Now get the hell off my property. Neither you nor your pet are welcome here.”

A sharp crack like lightning was heard even though there was nothing to be seen in the sky; Jensen guessed his message had been heard. Turning with a shaky breath, Jensen froze as his green eyes were immediately locked with tired, scared, and still too glassy, hazel ones. “Jared.”

“I…” Jared had been slowly waking up. He didn’t immediately know where he was or why he felt pain, as he hadn’t felt actual physical pain since he’d been alive. Then, he could sense the power of the witch as the loud crack was heard to signify his rage. Jared made his eyes open to stare into the eyes of the man he’d saved the night before from the evil creature.

It was strange for him to hear his name spoken. Even when he was still alive he had lost the use of his given name because he was evil and no better than a slave. To hear it now spoken by Jensen… it took Jared a moment to get his breath back. Then it took him another moment to realize he was actually breathing.

He had a rush of confused questions he wanted to try to ask but he couldn’t get anything out past his tongue. His mouth and throat felt so dry, his body was both hot and cold with pain that he could only guess was from when the creature had torn him up… an attack that Jared hadn’t expected to still feel pain from or not actual corporeal pain.

He’d been attacked by the devil dog a few times since his death but the pain had been fleeting and he’d never bled from it. Jared also was suddenly realizing that if he could feel pain, if he could bleed, then he was solid. He was just starting to panic when a warm, solid hand touched his shoulder.

“Calm down and try to take a few small breaths before you make yourself sick,” Jensen warned. He had watched Jared’s pale face as it slowly began to dawn on the boy that something had changed. He’d moved to quickly grab a bottle of water before going to sit on the coffee table as Jared struggled to sit up. Jensen was touching Jared’s shoulder to try to urge him to be calm; if such a thing were possible given that Jared was probably more confused than Jensen was. “Try to take a sip of this. It’s just water to help your dry throat.”

Jared stared at the plastic bottle for a long moment. He wasn’t sure what was happening or what he should be doing but his mouth was so dry and the water looked so good that he took it carefully with trembling fingers before he stopped to shake his head. He was afraid to drink from the bottle; it felt so flimsy in his hand.

“Hang on. Try this,” Jensen didn’t want to try a cup as he’d seen how badly Jared was shaking so he put a straw in the bottle and then demonstrated how to sip from it. “I swear, it’s just water, Jared. It won’t hurt you. Please, just take a sip. Here, watch me.”

Jensen sipped from the straw again and saw Jared’s eyes watching his every move before he slowly tried to emulate the actions when he sipped. “Easy, go slow,” he urged as Jared took his first sip only to gasp as the cold water hit his mouth. It was like his body had to remember how to do normal things again. “Just take a few little sips so you don’t get sick. It’s probably been a long time since any actual liquid or even food has touched your tongue.”

Jared could’ve said he hadn’t actually tasted real food for about a year before he died, but since he wasn’t sure he trusted his mouth to work yet, he stayed quiet. Instead, he started touching the odd feeling pants he woke up in before realizing he didn’t have a shirt on.

“That one gash on your shoulder there was pretty bad so I left the shirt off for now,” Jensen explained after seeing the boy’s fingers touch his bare chest and swore he saw a blush on pale cheeks before remembering that the period Jared had come from it would have been frowned upon to be without a shirt on. He also figured for Jared it would be worse given the abuse he’d endured. “If it would make you feel better I can give you one to slip into.”

“Please?” Jared guessed on the one hand it didn’t matter, but a piece of him still felt odd and unsure. He also wanted to hide as many of his old scars as possible since he’d seen the one on his chest and figured the others would still be visible.

Jensen grabbed the flannel button down that had been among the clothes Chris had bought earlier. He held it out and then watched with a small smile as Jared took it and slowly let his fingers run over the soft material. “It’s soft so it shouldn’t bother your wounds and the flannel will help keep you warm if you’re still cold. Are you?” Jensen asked while looking to be sure the fire in the fireplace was still burning after he’d tossed another log on it earlier.

“A… little,” Jared admitted and slipped into the shirt but found his fingers felt too stiff to button the tiny buttons. He watched as Jensen did so with ease. “I… I’m… solid?” he touched his own hand and then touched his face only to frown in confusion. “Why? How?”

“I was hoping you might tell me those things to be honest,” Jensen held up the bottle of water again to let Jared sip from the straw since he couldn’t convince the younger man to take the bottle yet. “You said last night that no one had ever seen or heard you, yet I did both. For some reason my coming here has changed something. I don’t know if it’s because I bought this place or… because I’m not scared of the stories, or what it is. What do you think?”

Jared didn’t know. He didn’t know why Jensen had been able to see or hear him or feel him. He didn’t know why he was suddenly solid but he did know he was feeling things he hadn’t felt since he was last alive; things like pain, cold, hunger and thirst. The one thing he did know was that Jensen had been the first person to come there that he’d truly wanted to protect. He also had wished he’d met him when he was alive because…

“Oh. Oh, no… it… it can’t be that,” he whispered, forgetting he could be heard until a hand touched his and he gasped at the feel of warm fingers touching him without pain or abuse.

“Share with the class?” Jensen asked with a teasing smile only to have to remind himself that Jared might not understand modern references. His smile changed when he saw a flash of panic on the boy’s face. “Jared? Hey, what’s wrong? Tell me what you’re thinking, sweetheart.”

The panic was huge, as was the sudden burning need to hide from this handsome man who was just trying to help him without knowing how useless that act was, how Jared truly deserved to burn in Hell for his sins. He suddenly stopped in mid panic attack to stare at Jensen. “What is that… name?” he asked curiously.

He’d heard it used before by the couples who’d come before Jensen. Jared had heard many names and phrases since he died; some he understood while others he didn’t. He wasn’t sure why Jensen would use this one for him.

“Oh. Okay, sorry. Slip of the tongue,” Jensen wanted to kick himself for letting the endearment slip out like that. He knew even if Jared was gay… had been gay, that he wouldn’t understand that term and didn’t want to confuse him more than he was already. “I won’t call you that or anything but your name unless you tell me I can.”

Jared had been called many names during his captivity, most foul or obscene. Only in his recent dreams had he heard someone call him by that one Jensen had just used as well as another name. “I’ve heard the couples who would come here sometimes call one another that,” he said quietly while still fingering the too long arms of the shirt until Jensen rolled them up so they weren’t bothering him anymore. “Why did you use it for me?”

“Uhhh, that’s a little complicated right now to try to explain, Jared,” Jensen wasn’t sure how to explain that even before coming to Porterville, even before starting to dream of Jared’s life, that he’d dreamed of his face for a number of years without even realizing it. “Let’s try to stay focused on why you’re not a ghost right now. But before we do that, can I get you upstairs so you can sleep in a bed?”

Earlier, before Chris had left, some of Jensen’s furniture had arrived so his friend had directed the bed and dresser to the room that Jensen had indicated would be his bedroom. Now he wanted to let Jared sleep the rest of the night in a bed rather than the sofa. “Or… Miss Porter said the attic room might be safer for you given that it was supposed to be warded against evil magic or something.”

“I can’t go in the attic,” Jared suddenly spoke up, eyes wide at the thought. “I never have been able to… which would make sense. He couldn’t either so…”

“No, that doesn’t make sense because you’re not evil,” Jensen frowned as he considered the reasons why Jared’s spirit couldn’t access the attic. “Besides, you’re not a ghost now. You’re solid, so can you try to come to the attic with me?” he asked, letting his fingers rub over a tense arm. “If you can’t then I’ll get you settled in my bedroom for the night… okay?”

Jared chewed his lip nervously. He knew his current form was somehow related to Jensen and him being here, so he couldn’t refuse the man’s request. He nodded slowly only to feel a hard knock to his chest as Jensen smiled at him like his agreeing to go to the attic was the greatest gift ever.

Jensen knew Jared was scared as well as confused, so he was trying not to confuse him more. But until he figured out a better way to protect him, he wanted to try and see if he could access the attic in this form; he’d figure out why he couldn’t before once the boy was a little more relaxed with him.

It took them several minutes to get to the second floor. Jared’s legs were very weak and Jensen had to keep reassuring him that it was fine if he leaned on him for support.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Jared,” he told him softly after one such break in the middle of the steps leading to the second floor. “You don’t have to be afraid of me. I swear I won’t touch you in any way you don’t want me to.”

Jared had been sitting on a step, head resting on the wall to help stop his vision from swimming and he’d been remembering running these steps multiple times until his mother had scolded him. Now he could barely climb them without stopping multiple times.

Hearing Jensen’s words however made him lift his head enough to look to where the other man was sitting a step down from him and something clenched inside his chest. “How… how much have you learned about my life… about what happened to me… here?” he asked quietly and heard his words stumble as they used to when he was nervous.

“That’s something else we can talk about once you’re a little stronger, but I just want you to know that I’m not going to hurt you in any way, for any reason,” Jensen replied and then stood to hold out a hand. “Ready to try a few more steps?”

Jared stared at the hand for a moment before accepting it, letting Jensen steady him when he swayed a little too much and was relieved when they finally got to the second story.

He’d watched some of the changes his old home had gone through but had noticed in recent years that a lot of it had been put back to almost how his parents had it… except for colors and carpeting or the art on the walls.

“My… father had his office in the attic,” he said suddenly and had to wonder how long it would take him to adjust to the sound of his own voice in his ears. “I rarely went up there and after he died, only Mother went up. It hurt to try when I was… well… I am still dead, aren’t I?”

“I’m not sure, Jared,” Jensen really wasn’t. But he knew he had to figure it out and soon so if he did learn what the curse was, Jared could cross to the light fully. “I’ll find out though,” he put his hand on the knob to the attic door.

He hadn’t been hearing the same noises as he had when he’d been up here with Elena Porter so Jensen had decided maybe the mouse had fled with all the noise of people in the house. Right then, he just wanted to see if Jared could step past the threshold.

“I… I can’t,” Jared didn’t feel the same block as he had years earlier, but as he started to move his foot, he heard the same sharp, cruel mocking voice telling him how much he’d shamed his father’s name. “He… he was right. I did shame my father’s name. I did get my family killed. All because the devil sensed my shame, my sins… I’m not clean enough to go to where my father worked. I… I should be out in the… barn because…”

“Jared, stop!” Jensen caught Jared’s broad shoulders, supporting him when his legs suddenly almost buckled and he saw him start to fade out a little. “Jared! I need you to stay calm and listen to me. Your fear affects your ability to hold this form. If you get too scared or worked up you might fade out and… and I don’t want to lose you… I mean lose seeing you or…” he had to be quick to fix that slip of the tongue. “Calm down, take a couple deep breaths and look at me, sweetheart.”

Jensen heard the endearment slip again but chose to focus on keeping Jared solid; plus it seemed like hearing him use that name helped to focus big hazel eyes on him and soon Jared was solid again. “What that asshole told you were lies, Jared. You didn’t do anything to cause what happened to your family. Your mother’s spirit told me some of it in a dream and you couldn’t fight some bastard’s obsession,” he knelt in the small stairwell to frame a pale face, wet with unknown tears, between his palms.

“You couldn’t fight it then, just like you couldn’t fight anything they did to you before you passed. He put some horrible curse on you to trap you here. You couldn’t fight it then but you can fight it now,” Jensen waited until Jared slowly calmed a little more and was watching him with eyes that were so scared and confused it made Jensen hurt for all this boy had endured in life and then in his afterlife as well. “I will help you to fight it, fight him. I will find a way to break this curse and set you free from it but first… show that damn witch that while he might have trapped you here, now that you have a shot to be free, that you will fight for it.”

Jared blinked his eyes free of tears he hadn’t even known he’d shed since he’d long since stopped being able to cry over his circumstances. Staring into Jensen’s steady eyes, he reached trembling fingers up to touch one of the hands on his face; needing to feel that the touch was real.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been touched without shame or pain involved but knew it had been from his mother, so couldn’t really count that. Jared’s breath had caught in his throat as he stared at Jensen, feeling him carefully slide his thumb along his jaw in a way that both frightened and confused the young man.

Jensen realized he had to be very careful in what he did right now. He knew Jared’s mindset was still probably set to when he was alive and the rigid and very strict rules of Puritan living despite spending his last 319 years as a spirit watching times and people change.

If what Sarah Padalecki said in his dream was correct, then Jared was more than likely gay or had been when he was alive, which also told Jensen that the young man probably hadn’t understood why he’d been attracted to males; an act that would’ve had him labeled by those obsessed with finding evil and sin in anyone.

He heard the soft inhale of breath when his thumb moved over Jared’s jaw. Jensen watched his face to see the flash of confusion before fear began to come back, guessing what he’d probably been told since he’d already talked about sin.

“Don’t be scared, Jared. I’m not going to hurt you,” he reassured the young man before letting his hands drop or else Jensen feared he would take this too far and terrify Jared before he could explain a few. “Try to come up to the attic with me?”

Jared was still getting used to the feel of Jensen’s touch on his face when it dawned on him that the man wasn’t ordering him to follow him but _asking_ him to try to follow him. Lifting his eyes up the steps before moving them to the hand that had been held out to him, Jared slowly took it.

Jared recalled the main part of the attic was full size, able for a full grown man to stand up, and then it slowly began to tilt and that was where shelves had been built to hold more books or his father’s tools. Given the years that had passed, the young man knew it would look different so as Jensen clicked on the small flameless torch he held in his hand, a flashlight as Jared tried to remember it was called now, to flip on a switch on the beam at the top of the steps the young man felt his eyes go wide. “Oh.”

“Not quite the words I thought of, but that’ll work,” Jensen hadn’t been sure what he expected since he had been told that no one but the Porter family had ever gone to the attic room and then that had been years ago.

He’d expected dust, old boxes, empty shelves, maybe some old antiques or other family items but what he saw once the light was switched on shocked him and if he went by the sharp gasp from Jared, Jensen guessed he also wasn’t expecting to find a very neat, if dusty, room complete with book lined shelves, an old desk as well as an antique bedroom set off to one side near a window.

“Jared?” he glanced back to see wide eyes looking around as if not trusting his own eyes. “This was… your father’s office?” he asked and stepped up into the actual attic to look around.

“When… he died, Mother let me move my room up here so Beatrice and Kate could have their own rooms,” Jared was so stunned to see the room nearly the way it had been the last time he’d been inside this house as a mortal man that he wasn’t even aware of moving away from Jensen to touch the desk before looking to the bed. “Everything looks the same. It feels the same as it did before I… before they took me and made me a slave on this land that I’d helped my father build on. Before he…”

Jared touched the deep red bedspread only to cough as years of dust wafted up to make him sneeze. “He’ll hurt you or drive you mad like he did others who came here,” he suddenly turned to look at Jensen who’d stopped by the desk to watch him. “You’ve already made him angry by not only buying this place but by saying you wanted to break the curse he put on me. He won’t let me go, Jensen.”

“If the boy breaks the curse and learns how to help you cross over to the other side, then it won’t be the worm’s decision but your own to keep you here, my son.”

The voice had both men turning to look to the other side of the room where the attic ceiling began to tilt lower and where a shimmering form of a man could be seen trying to form.

“Father?” Jared whispered.

“Oh shit,” Jensen groaned and then was whirling to catch Jared as he suddenly dropped. “”Shit!”

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note to say this chapter is the shortest of the 12. It just happened that way for some reason.

**Breaking Free**

**Chapter Five**

“Oh shit,” Jensen muttered, struggling to keep Jared from hitting the wooden floor and noticing the shimmering form of an older man dressed in what looked like Bermuda shorts, a Hawaiian print shirt, black socks and flip-flops, slowly materializing fully on the other side of the room. “Okay. I will definitely be examining my own head after this is over because this is wrong. Jared? Hey, c’mon now, wake up for me.”

“Hmm, was it the clothes or seeing his father as a ghost that caused the boy to faint?” the voice that Jensen heard was deep with just a hint of a German accent mused from over his shoulder. “Most people and even spirits think we have to remain in the clothes of our time, but I learned in the 20’s that with focus I could change my attire even if no one could see me.” He paused and looked at Jared’s unconscious form. “So my boy is solid… good. That means you’ve begun the process.”

“Process? What process?” Jensen demanded while giving a fast debate on carrying Jared down to a bedroom or struggling to support him. He moved forward, jerking the dusty cover off the bed; the moment the covers vanished, he watched as the mattress flipped over to reveal what looked like a simple feather stuffed one of the time. It would suit its purpose until he ordered a new one for it in the morning. “Are you… his father?”

The spirit’s long, dark brown hair was streaked with silver at the temples and held back with a simple ribbon and he stood back to allow the mortal to gently place his son’s body on the bed before standing fully to look at him.

It didn’t pass Dr. Stephen Padalecki’s notice that Jensen kept between him and Jared either. “You didn’t question seeing my wife in a dream, but you question seeing me? Perhaps I should be offended?” he smiled in a way that showed he was trying to put the young man at ease. “Yes, I am Jared’s father. I can’t manifest easily but tried to this evening, hoping to perhaps pass along a little reassurance to my son as well as help you to understand what must be done to free him… though I think you already suspect some of it.”

“Right now I’m just trying to keep him solid and will go from there,” Jensen muttered, focus going down to Jared when he noticed his lashes fluttering as his eyes struggled to open. “Hey, you coming back to me now?” He hoped he sounded calmer than he really felt when he noticed his fingers shaking as they carded back through Jared’s hair. “Jared? Jay? Damn, I really need to stop with the nicknames right now...”

Jared’s eyes opened after a brief struggle. He saw that he was on the bed in the attic, his old bed, and that he was with Jensen. But then he glanced over his shoulder and began to feel light headed again. “Father?” he whispered shakily. “Jensen?”

“I don’t think your parents are grounded here like you are. I think they’re here because you’re here, but they probably could move on,” Jensen glanced over to see a sad nod. “If Jared can cross, then you’ll cross fully?” he asked and saw the nod again, understanding why the young man’s parents had each chosen to make an appearance to him.

“Sarah is outside, since that’s where she died, and she wants justice for the lies that cost so many lives. I’m mainly indoors since I took my last breath in this house,” the former physician explained while gazing at his son to see his fear as well as the way he ducked his head, bangs hiding his eyes as if not wanting to look at him. “As a spirit, Jared was unable to access the attic due to the protective elements Sarah’s grandmother put on certain pieces of wood when it was built. She thought in case there was danger or a threat from evil magic than we could hide the children up here because dark magic can’t cross the threshold of this room.”

“But Jared’s not dark,” Jensen replied tightly and let his fingers rub gently up Jared’s arm when he felt him shake. “He’s not sinful or evil. He’s…”

“The mark on his shoulder is what the spell reacted to,” Stephen interrupted calmly. “You haven’t seen it yet?”

Jensen had been too busy looking at the bleeding scratches to notice much else save a few marks, like the bruise on Jared’s throat and around his wrists. He felt Jared tense and looked beside him. “Jared? Do you know the mark your Dad means?” he realized the nodding habit seemed to be a family trait as he saw Jared nod in response. “Can I see it? Please, let me see it?”

This time Jared shook his head negatively, afraid to show Jensen the painful brand that marked him as evil. “No. I… I don’t want you to see…” he lifted his eyes to gaze at Jensen with big sad eyes. “You can’t save me, Jensen.”

“Yes, he can,” Stephen told him and stepped closer to look down into his son’s eyes. “Jensen can break this curse but you have to trust him and you have to listen to him when he tells you that everything that little worm told you was lies. You’re not evil or damned, Jared. Back then, it was frowned upon to be what you were but these days I believe they have a more technical word or so.”

“Monster?” Jared looked away from his father’s stern gaze only to feel Jensen’s fingers touch his face to lift it up to him. “The only way to break the curse is to damn Jensen to a life in hell. I… I won’t ask anyone to do that. I’d rather stay trapped here and be hurt by him than ever… huh?”

“Tell this stubborn boy that how he feels is not a sin or evil by today’s standards… or most of them,” Stephen sounded frustrated by Jared’s refusal to listen. “He’s solid now because a part of the curse has already broken! But he needs to accept that and why things are different with you so he can start to fully start to make a transition. The danger is very real to you both because while he’s solid… he can be hurt, and the worm will take advantage of that if he can,” he told them both in warning.

“Over my dead body,” Jensen growled. He didn’t like bullies and wondered if one day he should look into doing a mental study of the mind of a bully to be certain they even had one. He also didn’t like a centuries old witch who was a bully and an obsessive bastard with a thrill for hurting someone innocent like Jared. “Wait. You said a part of the curse was broken already and that’s why he’s solid. How?” he asked and looked between father and son. “I’m guessing it’s because I came but… what makes me so special? I mean, plenty of people have rented this place but yet, never saw him. I’m just some guy with too much time on my hands and a burning need for answers.”

“And you’re like my son,” Stephen replied with a bright and dimpled smile as Jensen’s eyes shot wide open to stare at the colorfully dressed spirit. “Jared knows the difference. He knows what makes him pull toward you more than any other couple that ever rented from Elena or the others in the Porter line, but it scares him because he hasn’t been told things that weren’t lies meant to scare or confuse him.”

Jared had pushed himself back up to a sitting position to stare at his father. He could recall him in his memories, when he’d never been out of a jacket, shirt and proper trousers. He wasn’t sure what to call this outfit now. He also didn’t see how he could know so much if he wasn’t bound to the land like Jared himself was or why he seems to think Jensen was like him.

“Jensen’s not a ghost,” he argued, not understanding the one comment and refusing to address the other because he didn’t want to risk Jensen looking at him like he was bad or foul.

“No, I think he means I’m gay… like you are or used to be since I’m not sure how you still feel. That’s one of those things I thought we’d talk about tomorrow after you woke up, showered and tried to eat.” Jensen knew the boy had no clue what he was talking about and wondered just how the older spirit had figured out he was gay since Jensen didn’t think he gave off signals or anything… “I’ll explain it to you later, Jared. How’d you know I’m gay?” he asked curiously, turning back to Stephen.

Stephen chuckled while he moved around the room to eye various books on the shelves, moving a finger to make a couple slide out for Jensen to look at later. “Well, you don’t have a ring on, so I knew you weren’t married. You don’t have any pictures of any ladies in your wallet or your luggage and yes, I’m a nosy ghost and snooped,” he shrugged as Jensen’s eyes narrowed while Jared gasped as if startled by such a non-Puritan act. “I also heard how you talked about my son. I saw how you touched him earlier… and the biggest tip-off was Elena sold you the house when she’s only ever rented it to couples who had offered her money to buy it outright.”

“You’re gay. Jared’s gay. Now explain to him what that means and go from there,” he clapped his hands in a way that said he saw it quite easy to handle. “The worm who did this to my son told him that no one would love him because he was an evil creature of Satan. He cursed him to be trapped on this land until someone came along to undo the damage done to him; someone who would love him, care for him, teach him to be free and give him courage to make the choice to cross over to the light.”

“No one is going to ever love me like he meant!” Jared’s panic at forever being cursed, as well as his confusion over what his father’s spirit was saying, finally made a swell of emotion burst free when he yelled and attempted to stand too quickly only to fall back. “I can’t be loved! He and the Pastor were both right! Love is for normal people, like you and Mother! I’m not normal! I was cursed to be…” he stopped, trying to get his breathing back under control and calm down when he heard Jensen reminding him to stay calm or he might fade out.

Jared glanced next to him to see Jensen watching him with concern and felt a bitter sob break free. “You don’t understand, Jensen. You’d be better off if I vanished. I’m dirty and wrong and… anyone who would try to break the curse will damn themselves and…”

“So that’s what the curse is?” Jensen had framed Jared’s face again in the hopes of calming him down. But he saw that the younger man didn’t want to meet his eyes, he knew it was time to talk to him, even if it was sooner than he’d planned. “This witch or whatever he was cursed Jared’s spirit into being stuck here until someone came who cared for him? Care or actually love him?” he was speaking to the spirit of Jared’s father since right then he got the feeling the other ghost would be able to explain it easier to him. “He used Jared’s confusion over his sexual orientation, the fact that back in those days that homosexuals were seen as deviants, to scare and shame him? But still… there has to be more to it than this.”

Jensen had done a lot of reading and research on various curses or hauntings and knew this one was different but was having trouble deciphering the mystery. Right then he just wanted to take the fear away from Jared’s eyes as well as his belief in the lies he’d been told while alive, and most likely after he’d passed. “Why did he become solid _now_?” he asked, lightly brushing his fingers over a wet cheek to offer a calm smile to a confused boy. “Why was he hurt by that creature? He wasn’t solid then.”

“No, but he’d started the process and the damn evil bastard was furious because he knows he’s losing Jared to you,” Stephen replied and felt that his time was drawing to a close; he thought it best to leave these two alone. “Ask Jared what the difference is with you and any of the others who have come to this place only to be chased away. He knows. He knew it the moment you arrived but it scares him because he doesn’t understand that it’s not a sin for him to feel the way he does. It’s up to you, Jensen, to reassure him, to show him the truth.”

Stephen’s hand touched his son’s trembling shoulder lightly before his form began to flicker and he slowly started to fade away. “Your mother and I were wrong to not try to explain in more detail about your feelings, Son. I tried to explain, but your mind had been so filled already by the fire and brimstone teachings of that time that you didn’t allow yourself to listen. Now… listen to this man. Listen to him, trust him to know what’s best and you can beat the witch’s spell and the curse holding you here,” he stepped back to gaze at both young men before offering a small enigmatic smile. “Once you do that? Then that’s when the hard choices will come and you’ll need to make them for you both to break the chains binding you to your past life.”

“I liked your father right up until the very end,” Jensen said with a sigh, and then let his gaze settle back on Jared’s face to see so much raw emotion that it nearly broke the young psychologist’s own walls down.

Jensen had grown up in a household where emotions weren’t shown much; a piece of him often thought he decided to study psychology in an attempt to discover why his own family seemed so dysfunctional in comparison to other families of the kids he’d gone to school with.

“I know you’re confused by all of this and I wish I could say it would make instant sense when I do explain some of it but… it’ll take you time to understand,” he smiled and started to ease his hands away only to have Jared catch one to hold onto it tightly. “I will explain it when you wake up but… can I see this mark the witch put on you?” He knew Jared didn’t want to show him but wasn’t sure if it was the mark itself he was hiding, or his body and the other scars he carried. “Jay, I swear I won’t hurt you if you show me and if I happen to touch it, I’ll ask permission first.”

Jared had been biting his lip in hesitance to show Jensen the mark but then he got distracted by the man’s last comment and stared at him. “Why… would you ask permission to touch me?” he asked curiously, head tilted to the side. “You touched me earlier didn’t you? When I was bleeding?”

“Yeah, but touching you to stop you from bleeding out and dying… re-dying, is different than touching you or touching more than your face or…” Jensen shook his head with a little amused frustration.

Normally it was he who would make other peoples brains spin with some of his theories or opinions. This was the first time that Jensen was actually a little thrown by someone else and given the time Jared was from, it impressed him.

“No one should _ever_ touch you without your permission, Jared,” he told the confused young man. “I know you still believe that you have no choice, but you do. You can choose to not let me see that mark, or touch you in any way, or even call you by those names I know I’ve slipped up and used. You can make choices now and not be hurt because of them.”

Jared stared into Jensen’s eyes for a long time as if debating if he believed the man or not. He’d never had the option to make his own choices before. His parents had mainly decided for him when he was younger and while he guessed he had made some choices once that mock trial was held and his freedom was lost, Jared had never been free to make a choice.

“You chose to come into the house that first night, right?” Jensen spoke up, choosing not to mention that Jared’s fingers were lightly running over his face like he’d done before. “You chose to touch me and you also chose to come back when you were hurt. You’ve let me touch you now and you chose to trust me enough to come into the attic. Those are all choices, Jared. Choices are things you’ll get to make more as you learn to adjust to this time, until we break the curse holding you.”

That reminded Jared about something else he was uneasy over and he slowly pushed to his feet to go over and gaze out the window even though it was once again dark out. “Can… can I choose to not show you or talk anymore tonight?” he asked softly. “I’m… tired and dirty and…”

“Yeah, you can do that,” Jensen understood that it would take Jared time to learn to trust him or understand whatever was happening to him right then. “Do you want to sleep up here or an actual bedroom until I can get a new bed for up here?” he asked.

“I’ve slept in much worse than this so… I’d like to stay up here if that’s okay with you,” Jared was suddenly so tired and wondered how long it had been since his body had craved sleep… before he’d always feared sleeping because that was usually when the worse abuse would take place. “I… I… do you think I’ll still be here in the morning?”

That was a fear for both men since neither truly understood how or why Jared had become solid like this or what, other than fear, might cause him to lose that ability. Jensen didn’t want to make him worry and not sleep so he offered a calm smile. “You’ll be here, Jared,” he promised him, standing to motion to the bed. “Let me go get another blanket and some pillows for you. Then you can sleep and when you wake up I’ll show you how a modern shower works before seeing if you can handle food yet.”

As Jensen left to go grab the mentioned items, Jared gazed around the attic room, trying to sense his father’s spirit and if he could still feel the oppressive energy like he had in the barn or earlier when he’d just been waking up; he didn’t feel anything but warmth and… safety; something he hadn’t felt in a long time even before his world changed.

Jensen hurried to find the extra linens in the closet in the hall but by the time he got back to the attic, he stopped to smile at what he found.

Jared was lying on his stomach, long legs hanging a little off the bed as beds back in that time had definitely not been made for someone as tall as he was.

Placing the thin blanket over Jared, since the attic was chilly and he was still shivering a little, Jensen managed to get a pillow under his head before crouching down to notice Jared appeared more relaxed this time than he had when he’d slept on the sofa downstairs earlier.

Jensen knew he was getting in way over his head in what he’d thought would be a simple investigation but he no longer cared about being impartial or scientific like he knew he should be. All he cared about was helping Jared no longer be afraid or hurt. He wanted to see him cross into the light and be happy with his family; even if that act might hurt Jensen a lot more than he’d ever considered possible.

He hadn’t moved to Porterville, Massachusetts with the intention of finding someone he found both attractive and intriguing. He hadn’t moved there with any intention of falling in love but now, as he watched Jared sleep, he was beginning to fear he’d done both.

Jensen also feared that to help Jared break free that he’d have to risk his life and his heart.

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Breaking Free**

**Chapter Six**

The next day reminded Dr. Jensen Ackles of just how far he had to go to explain the modern world to a young man who’d spent the last 319 years as a ghost; while Jared Padalecki had picked up some modern words, as well as some interesting habits he learned from watching people come and go on the property, some things still took the young man by surprise… such as the shower.

Jensen woke up to the sound of something crashing from down the hall. He quickly rolled out of bed, nearly fell in his haste to get out the door to see what was happening, when he heard an impressive string of curse words that he knew would’ve impressed Chris.

“Jared? Hey, are you okay?” he remembered to knock on the bathroom door before opening it a little to peek in before pushing it more so he could step in carefully. “Umm, should I ask?” he queried while trying to keep from smiling or laughing at the sight that greeted him.

“This… this… thing is possessed by Satan and it attacked me when I tried to turn it on to try to clean myself before you woke up,” Jared was sitting fully clothed and looking like a sad, drowned puppy in the old fashioned claw foot tub that had been left after someone remodeled the bathroom to include a modern, multi-spray, shower head. “Water went everywhere and…” he glanced at himself before lifting his eyes. “I’m wet and… my clothes… these clothes…”

“I have more downstairs for you since the clothes you had on needed to be washed really good or burned.” Jensen stepped closer to eye the shower head. He made some adjustments to shut it off so only the faucets for the bath would work. “Maybe for now you should stick with taking a bath,” he suggested but noticed the tub was seriously too small for someone as tall as Jared. He hoped it would work for the moment until he could explain the shower to him. “Take those off, drop them on the floor, and I’ll slip some fresh clothes in the door. Just yell for me if you need anything else.”

Jared watched as Jensen showed him how to turn the knobs and to regulate the hot and cold water so it would be a decent temperature. Of course Jared was used to bathing in the cold lake water before he was taken and then he’d only be doused with ice cold water when it suited his captors, but once he was alone in the room and he got brave enough to touch the shiny knobs, he saw there was a difference in the water depending on which knob he turned more.

Before leaving to go retrieve more clothes for him, Jensen had laid out soap, a wash cloth and towels while telling Jared to just be careful with soaking the wounds, and that he’d dress them again once he was out of the tub.

Jared sniffed the soap and wrinkled his nose at the strange smell. Modern soap didn’t smell like the soap his mother would make, but he guessed it smelled a little better, so he began to wash up. He jumped at the sound of the door, but saw it was only Jensen slipping some clothes into the room without opening the door more than he had to as if not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

“Yell if you need anything else or need help. I’ll go start something for breakfast,” Jensen called from outside the door.

Jared thought he mumbled some response but his main focus was on realizing he could feel so much again and still wasn’t sure why. He washed up slowly, careful of the cuts, to find that he really was dirty. Jared figured out how to drain the tub and refill it and he did this twice before he felt clean. He then repeated the process before dunking his head in the water to try to wash his filthy hair since he wasn’t about to attempt the possessed water spout again any time soon.

By the time Jared felt clean and thought he’d gotten all the soap out of his hair, he could smell other scents that reminded him that it had also been a very long time since he’d smelled real food, much less had any cooked for him to eat.

He carefully stepped from the tub and dried off before dressing in loose cotton pants and another button down shirt with short sleeves. Jared’s fingers struggled with the buttons but he managed to get most of them done up and left the top four go since he figured Jensen would have him remove it anyways so he could take care of the still red and nasty looking scratches from the Devil Dog.

Jared wondered about his shoes but would ask Jensen about those once he saw him. He followed the smell of food and music down the steps and into the kitchen where he found the man in question switching his attention from two skillets to an odd device on the counter that looked to be popping bread up out of it.

“You… cook?” he asked while biting his lip when Jensen turned to face him and their eyes locked. Once again, that same odd tingle he’d felt the first time he saw the man hit him.

“Yeah, I learned early on, once I went to college, that if I wanted to eat then I needed to cook,” Jensen had to make himself look back to the bacon and eggs he had been cooking before he stared at Jared too long. “Sit down. It’s almost ready,” he said, looking over Jared’s clothing and noticing the pants were too long and the shirt just a little too tight. “I’ll have to go into town and get you better clothes. Those won’t work at all.”

Looking down at the modern clothes, Jared frowned and considered the comment. “Why? They cover me… And I don’t think, even in this year, that people can go around with no clothes on.”

Jensen chuckled and put the food on plates after buttering the toast. “You’d be surprised how many people try or actually do out in California where I came from,” he sat down across from the younger man to watch as Jared eyed the food cautiously. “Is this alright?” he asked and kicked himself for not asking what Jared might like to eat. “I can fix you whatever else you eat… ate… Hell, I don’t even know if you can eat.”

“No, this is fine. I was just trying to think how long it’s been since I’ve had real food and not cold gruel or what you might call bad porridge.” Jared had to also remember how to how a fork. It took him a couple attempts to get it in his hand correctly since the flatware Jensen had put out was much thinner and shinier than what Jared was used to.

He followed Jensen’s move to pick up the bacon, relieved that it was how he’d done it as a boy as well. It was a little too crispy, but to Jared? It was also the best thing he’d tasted in over 300 years; it tasted so good that he had to make himself not eat too fast and risk getting sick.

They ate mostly in silence. Jensen picked at his breakfast in favor of watching Jared’s face as he ate each bite of food with relish and pure enjoyment. He laughed at the faces Jared made as he tasted each jar of jelly until he found one he enjoyed -- stating his mother’s Elderberry jam would still be better but the strawberry would work as well.

“I’ll look for that kind when I go to the store,” Jensen decided not to focus on the fact that he didn’t even _know_ where in Porterville the stores were in favor of just enjoying eating breakfast with Jared. “Tell me what else you like to eat so I can pick it up.”

“I’m not sure if a modern store would even have things like my Mother grew in her garden or the farmers had, so I’ll try anything you fix… except… porridge,” Jared seemed to frown a little more before he snapped his focus back when a hand touched his and he saw Jensen’s concern. “Sorry. You’d think after so long it wouldn’t bother me or make me scared that he’ll find out about this… me or you and… Jensen? What does being gay mean and why did my father seem to think you being whatever it is was so important?” he asked suddenly.

Jensen had just been turning to put the plates in the sink when he nearly dropped them in his surprise at the unexpected question, turning to see innocent eyes staring back at him. “Okay, yeah… I guess I’d better explain some things to you so you’ll understand a little more, and maybe then you’ll feel comfortable telling me what you think made you solid or you’ll show me that mark.”

“You’ll see it when you look at my cuts, won’t you?” Jared followed Jensen into the living room to sit on the sofa that he realized really was as lumpy as he first thought it had been last night.

“Not unless you tell me I can look at it. Most of these wounds are on your chest, side and arms. We’ll deal with the one on your thigh later,” Jensen had to be quick to not let his breath catch as Jared innocently shed the shirt.

Jared had the height and build to be well built if he ever gained back the weight and muscle he lost while alive and spent his last years as someone’s captive. He wasn’t what Jensen would call skinny per se. In fact, with his broad shoulders and long limbs, he would be called lanky by today’s standards. Jensen didn’t care for how he could still see some ribs. He also didn’t care for the older scars that were visible even now, but Jensen did notice the scratches and gashes weren’t quite as bad even if they would still be painful.

“You… you can look,” Jared chewed his bottom lip nervously as he watched Jensen take out a small tube of cream to carefully apply it over the cuts. At the first burn, he instinctively wanted to shove Jensen away and hide, but a soft soothing voice telling him to just give it a second stopped him. “Hurts.”

“I know it does, Jay,” Jensen winced at he heard himself use the nickname again and looked up to see if Jared was upset or confused by it, only to see Jared watching him cover each scratch with ointment and then a small gauze pad. “Can I call you Jay?” he asked softly, and then thought to explain it. “It’s a sort of nickname, but if you don’t like it then I won’t.”

The burning slowly went away after a couple seconds; Jared wasn’t sure if that was normal or if it was because Jensen blew softly over each wound he covered or if Jared was too busy not fidgeting from the sudden and confusing feelings that was causing him to not notice his wounds any longer.

“Huh?” he suddenly remembered Jensen had asked him a question but he couldn’t recall what it was and he blushed furiously, starting to turn his face away, only to feel gentle fingers catching it to keep it where Jensen could still see him. “I… Jensen… please don’t hate me or… I know it’s wrong for me to…” he was stumbling over his words while trying to say what he wanted without knowing the exact way to. “They’re right. I’m bad.”

“You’re gay, not bad,” Jensen replied with a soothing smile. He finished dressing Jared’s wounds and then moved to sit beside him on the sofa, not missing the shy way Jared moved a little away from him or how his eyes kept sliding to his face whenever he thought he wasn’t looking. “Gay is a term for men who like other men instead of women. There’s a longer term but for now I’ll stick with trying to explain this to you.

“Your father’s spirit, the nosy ghost that he is, was right when he said I am gay. I am friends with some women. I work with some, but I don’t find them sexually attractive as I do men,” he paused to take a deep breath to settle his nerves, which also allowed Jared to take this in. “Your… mother when I saw her in my dream… said you were attracted to men. Were you?”

Jared’s mouth had gone dry, his palms were sweaty, and his heart was pounding in his chest at what he’d just heard come out of Jensen’s mouth. He’d never once thought there was an actual term for what had once looked upon as the Devil’s touch.

He’d known since he was young that he wasn’t like the other young boys or men in the village. It had scared him when he realized he was looking at boys and not girls because he’d heard enough sermons to know it was wrong to like his own kind.

Jared had hidden it from everyone, including his parents, but he suspected they’d known because his father, before his death, had tried to explain that while it wasn’t legal in anyway and frowned upon greatly, it did not make him evil or an abomination; not that Jared had believed that. Then when the trouble started with the Welling family he’d known he was everything wrong and wicked because only someone deserving of punishment would’ve been hurt like he’d been even before the witchcraft lies came up.

Even watching the world change as a trapped spirit he’d been constantly reminded that he was a sin, an evil, twisted creature of the Devil, and no one would be able to help him unless they, too, were twisted and sick.

Looking at Jensen now made Jared both confused and frightened. He’d suspected from the moment he woke up and realized he was solid, maybe even the night before when it hit him that Jensen had seen and heard him, the reason why but it scared him to tell Jensen what he thought. He wasn’t sure what to think or feel since to him, liking or finding men attractive was still a sin.

“Back in the time you were from, back in those days, gays did exist but they hid themselves very well or else they would be considered evil or sinful. I’m betting by how scared you look right now, that that’s what you were told then and he told you, up until I came,” Jensen had always been good at reading people even before he went into the field of psychology he could gauge people so it was so easy to read Jared’s pale, open, pure emotional face.

“Being gay is neither of those things, Jay,” he told him quietly, longing to reach out and touch the boy but not wanting to push this too fast, confuse him more, or make Jared think he had to let him touch him. “Some people are gay, some are straight, and then there are even those who enjoy both men and woman. I could give you the whole psychological spiel on it but it still confuses me, so I won’t.” He slowly curved his fingers under Jared’s chin to tip it up when it went to lower a little. “I will tell you that you are not evil or wicked and neither am I.

“I am a 28 year old psychologist, which is another too big word for you right now, who decided to uproot my life in California and move here to Massachusetts after my old Princeton professor mentioned some things about this place… and about you.” Jensen waited until slowly, hazel eyes lifted to find his again. “The reason you were suddenly able to become solid, the reason your father said we’d already started to break the curse… is it because Miss Porter sold me this place or is it because I’m gay like you -- if you still are, I mean-- or is there some other reason?” he asked. “Last night, you seemed to get upset by something you thought about what’s caused this change when no one else who’d come here had even come close to seeing you.”

Jared stared at him as if unable to speak for a long moment. Before, he hadn’t wanted to tell Jensen what he thought might have started this odd change from corporal spirit to solid man again because he’d feared his reaction. Now, as he worked to understand Jensen’s explanations and that he felt similar feelings for other men, he wasn’t sure how he felt except confused and frightened; not for himself but for Jensen.

He knew if the witch learned that not only was Jensen… _gay_ , but that he might be the one to break the curse and set Jared free, the young man feared he might turn his rage and then his evil powers on Jensen and Jared would rather be stuck here than risk anyone being hurt because of him.

“Since I was a teenager, I would have these dreams of how I’d like my life to be. I would dream of weird jobs or places to live, but the one thing I’d started to notice in all my dreams, the one thing that was always the same was the man in which I wanted to spend my life with,” Jensen began while letting his fingers carefully card back through now clean, but still damp, long dark hair. He was more than a little surprised when he thought he felt Jared actually lean into the touch. “I never noticed until I was in my early 20’s that no matter what else changed in those dreams, the man in them never did,” he slipped his fingers down Jared’s jaw but was careful to not move closer or do anything more as he went on.

“Since learning about this place, about you, I’ve been having different dreams. They’re mostly cloudy, emotional, and even painful at times, and it wasn’t until the other night when I woke up to your eyes, to your fingers touching me, that it suddenly hit me.” He traced Jared’s jaw with his fingertips before letting them slide over to his cheek. “In both my dreams now and those in the past, it was your eyes that I saw. It was your voice I would hear and I bet if or when I get you to smile at me fully, you’ll have the same dimples I’ve seen too.”

It surprised Jared that Jensen had been dreaming of him at all, but then he thought of his own odd waking dreams— since as a ghost he never slept. He hadn’t seen much except fleeting images of places that looked odd and terrifying, but he had heard a voice, much like Jensen’s voice, calling him the two names other than his given name that the man before him tended to use without thinking.

Jared felt silly telling Jensen about those but decided to tell him something else while easing away only enough to turn to show his back and heard a sharp gasp as well as a low curse that made him tense out of fear until he felt light fingers brush down his arm in a soothing gesture.

“When you asked me what I thought had caused the change, what had made me suddenly be solid or whatever I am, since I’m still fairly certain I’m dead… when my father said that I know what caused it… that might be true,” he began quietly, nodding in permission to Jensen’s softly asked request to touch the scars on his back caused by repeated bouts with a whip or a switch from the Pastor.

Every day, twice a day for the first year of his ‘sentence’, Pastor Welling would have his sons tie him to a heavy wooden stock in the middle of the yard, his former yard, and whip Jared while shouting fiery sermons in his face to ‘drive the evil spirits’ out of his body.

The next year, the whippings were less frequent and usually done in the barn. He thought perhaps the other villagers were starting to get the courage to stand up to their hate and fear spreading pastor, but Jared had already accepted he would die one way or another because the oldest son had already marked his territory in ways that his bible thumping father had no clue about.

He felt Jensen’s fingers tracing each scar until he felt them getting closer to the mark on his shoulder, shuddering as he recalled the agony of feeling that inflicted. “He… when I died, or was dying I suppose cause I was still trying to draw in air but my lungs were tight from the consumption, I heard him say that I’d never escape or find peace in death. That I’d be trapped on this land and still under his power until someone like me came along.”

“Someone like you?” Jensen had a hunch what that meant as he traced the cross shaped brand that had three letters scrawled raggedly and felt his fury increase at the monster who would have done that to a boy who’d already been put through so much. “He meant someone who liked men I’m guessing.”

“I guess. Back then I didn’t know what he meant cause it made no sense to me. I never understood, if finding the same… sex was bad or evil, then how he got away with it because he mocked his Father’s sermons, cursed the Lord, and did other vile things even before they claimed my family were witches,” Jared glanced back to see Jensen’s eyes were calm while he rubbed his hand over the brand. “When I was 14, before all the trouble started in Salem, before I grew up more and was kind of small, he… I was walking through the woods to get berries and he tried to grab me then, but I got away.

“After that, he was always watching me, looking at me and even after we moved here; after the trouble happened over the land and he did… hurt me, my father told Pastor Welling as well as the town elders he was trouble but he was the ‘perfect son’ of a Pastor.” Jared wasn’t aware that he’d begun to shake until Jensen turned him back to face him, helping him put the shirt back on and waiting until he calmed back down. “After it happened, after he had me, he’d always say that I’d never escape him because no one else would ever… care about someone like me.

“I’ve believed that. Since I realized his spell, his curse, had locked me here as a spirit that no one but some children and animals and of course _he_ could see, I’ve believed that no one could help me ever be free of him. To be free of the pain and abuse he could still cause me to suffer or to be with my family… I believed that until you came,” Jared lifted a hand slowly, almost hesitantly to touch Jensen’s face like he had the other night, down from his hairline to the line of his jaw. Only this time he was fascinated by the touch since Jensen hadn’t shaved yet so the light scruff felt rough under his fingertips.

“When I heard you tell that man who’d come with you that you’d bought the house, I knew that was different since the Porters had never sold to anyone before. It was also different because before, only couples had rented the house. But there was something else about you that I didn’t understand until maybe just now… if I understood you correctly,” he watched Jensen’s eyes during this and watched them subtly deepen to a darker green when he innocently traced his fingers over his face again.

“What is it that you think you might not understand that I’ve said?” Jensen asked in a rough voice that was just a little lower, a little rougher since he was fighting back a sudden burning need to touch Jared, more than he had so far; the younger man’s innocent touches to his face were bringing alive a part of his body that Jensen hadn’t felt respond to another man like this since he was 16 and just finding himself sexually.

“You like… men?” Jared was still unsure and mainly needed confirmation before getting the courage to ask his next question. “That man, who was here with you… is he your…”

Jensen’s eyes suddenly bugged out and he coughed, glad that Chris wasn’t around to hear that innocent question because while they were friends and Chris accepted Jensen fully, the man was as straight as they came.

“No!” he was quick to say and then chuckled to show the confused boy that he wasn’t angry with his questions. “Chris is my friend. He’s probably my best friend but he’s also just a friend, Jared. He likes women and let’s never ask him something like that or else I’m afraid his head might explode. And yes, I like men. As your father mentioned, I don’t have a boyfriend or anyone else in my life. What else?”

Jared took a moment to allow this information to settle while chewing his bottom lip and thinking it over so he didn’t ruin anything. “You like men,” he repeated quietly, feeling a warm hand stroke his cheek as Jensen gave a soft sound of conformation. “So that is probably what allowed me to become solid so long as I stay calm or not afraid. Because you’re the first person who came here who was… that word you said.”

“The word is gay, which is something we both are it seems.” Jensen had suspected that might be what it was but he’d do more research soon. “I think it also might be because I came here with the intent to find out about the curse, the hauntings, and… you.” He saw that Jared wasn’t tensing at his touch so he took a risk to ease a little closer on the sofa. “Anything else I should explain right this moment?”

“A lot to be honest,” Jared muttered, eyes widening at the feelings he found building inside him; feelings he’d never felt before, and they scared him. “This… liking men stuff… is it… will it be like what… he did to me?” He asked with fear evident in his voice, but found that Jensen’s touch was so different, even if it was just on his face. “I mean, I get there’s pain involved in… sex. I heard my parents giving my older sisters a talk when they got old enough so I know there’s pain but…”

Jensen couldn’t imagine how Puritan parents might explain sex to their children. Hell, he was still traumatized from his own grandfather’s attempts to explain sex to him by using the old Texas approach of taking his already sexually confused grandson out to the field to watch the bulls and cows.

He didn’t have a clue how to explain it to a boy who’d been so badly physically, sexually, and mentally abused; one who’d come from a time when sex was frowned upon. Jensen didn’t want to confuse Jared more, but he did want to clear up one misconception.

“If it’s done correctly, if it’s done between two men who care for one another, and the one on top takes his time and gives his partner the time to adjust as well as prepare him properly, than there shouldn’t be more than a little pain the first time,” he told Jared quietly, adding with a slow smile. “Sex isn’t something that happens right away anyway, Jay. It does sometimes, but it should take time to get used to know one another, to learn the likes and dislikes of each other, to learn how to make the time special for both men and not just the one on top.”

When Jared pulled back just enough to stare at him in confusion Jensen decided the moment he learned who the witch was in this time period? He was punching the asshole in the face for mistreating Jared. “You’ve only known pain and shame, haven’t you, sweetheart?” he asked softly, brushing the pad of his thumb over a still visible bruise on Jared’s face and saw Jared’s eyes starting to get more flecks of gold as he accepted the touch.

“I know this is confusing to you. I know you’ll have questions while we work to figure out what’s needed beside the obvious to make sure you get to finally be free of this place, but you don’t have to be scared of me, Jared.” Jensen slowly moved his other hand up to frame Jared’s face, noticing it was warm now and not cold like it had been last night. “I will never hurt you.”

Jared was certain he could feel his heart pounding out of his chest between the closeness of the man in front of him, the deep husky tone of Jensen’s voice, as well as the way his fingers were skimming over his face. His own hand had landed on Jensen’s shoulder but he was content just letting it rest there.

“Do… do you… like me?” He wasn’t sure how else to phrase the hesitant question, blushing when he heard how stupid it sounded. “I mean… do you… I… I don’t know what I mean, Jensen. I just know being with you now makes me feel things that I… I don’t understand or know what to do with.”

“Have you ever been kissed?” Jensen suspected the answer, just like he suspected Jared wouldn’t know the meaning of the word. He lightly traced a fingertip over soft full lips to watch dark eyes widen even more. “Did he ever touch your lips with his or did anyone?”

Feeling the heat come to his cheeks more as he realized what Jensen was asking; Jared shook his head while swallowing hard. “No,” he whispered, or tried to, except he swore his voice had left him at how close Jensen was now and how deep his eyes were as they gazed at him. “He… he said I was dirt, so the only thing my lips were good for was… he… had me… umm…” He had to stop, shame still too huge at the harsh memories that suddenly swamped him.

“Jay, you are not dirt and the only things those lips will ever touch will be mine… when you feel safe enough to let me kiss you,” Jensen told him, inwardly furious that Jared hadn’t even known a simple kiss.

Jared considered some things he’d seen the couples who’d come and gone do in the yard or in the kitchen. He looked at Jensen’s lips for a long moment before hearing the man make a soft sound as he chewed on his lip nervously.

“Does… kissing hurt?” he asked. He was as curious as to what feeling Jensen’s lips on his might feel like, and he was scared about being hurt or not being good enough to please the man who might be the way to breaking the witch’s curse. “I… I just don’t want to be hurt again.”

The soft break in Jared’s voice broke Jensen’s heart and he went with his gut with his next move. He gave a gentle tug and brought a tense Jared fully into his arms to just hold him. “No one will hurt you again, Jared,” he promised in a voice thick with emotion.

Normally Jensen didn’t show his emotions. He guarded them very closely which is how most people got the opinion that he was cold and aloof. But with Jared, it was just so easy to let down those walls and be open with him, to want to protect him and help him for however long he had him.

The embrace took Jared by surprise. He hadn’t been held by anyone like this but his mother and that had been many, many years ago. It took him a moment or two before he understood he wasn’t being hurt; Jensen was just holding him.

Once that sank in, Jared slowly let his arms move to return the gesture, a little shy still since he wasn’t used to being allowed to express such emotions freely. Gentle touches, soothing words or gestures were strange to him, but the more he was with Jensen, the more relaxed Jared found himself becoming and finally he trusted the man to not hurt him, to know what was right.

It didn’t feel as odd as Jared thought it might to be held by another man, to feel Jensen’s hand rubbing small slow circles over his back while talking to him, reassuring him that it would all be fine and that he was safe with him.

“Jensen?” he asked after a couple minutes of silence and Jared finally had the courage to speak, easing back just enough so he could see warm green eyes staring back. “Can… can I ask why you don’t have anyone you care for yet?”

Jensen hadn’t seen that question coming since he figured Jared probably had other questions to ask, but once he heard the innocent question the answer seemed to come right to him. “At first, I think I put it off to focus on getting my degrees and then I was trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life,” he replied while tucking a loose strand of hair behind Jared’s ear. “After my parents tried to force me into marrying some girl and I refused that idea, I realized I didn’t have a boyfriend yet because I was waiting to meet just the right man; someone special, someone who would love me back for myself and not my money or my professional title.”

“Do you think you ever will?” Jared asked softly, blushing when he realized how personal a question he’d just asked. He started to drop his head with a mumbled apology when a hand suddenly caught his chin, lifting it back up so he could see the warm smile.

“I think I already have,” Jensen told him honestly and saw Jared’s eyes shoot to his in surprise and confusion. “I know it might seem silly given that when we break this curse that I’ll have to say goodbye and let you go so you can cross over with your family but… until then… until then I think I’d like to know you better Jared Padalecki,” he said and then waited with his heart in his throat.

Jared stared in surprise. It shocked him that he’d be someone Jensen was really interested in. He knew Jensen was smart, smarter than he was, as well as handsome since Jared suspected it was his attraction to the man that had started the change in him that allowed him to be solid.

“You want to…” he stopped to swallow the lump in his throat. “You really like me or find me attractive?” He couldn’t believe that since he’d always been told how gangly and awkward he was, how plain he looked. “You’d like to know me better? Really?”

“Yes, to all of that and more if you’ll trust me to not hurt you like you’ve been hurt,” Jensen nodded, reminding himself this was still basically a naïve boy, several centuries out of his element. “I meant what I said about going slow, getting to know one another and…”

“I’m still dead and if we break the curse… I’ll have to cross, won’t I?” Jared saw what he thought might have been a flash of regret in Jensen’s eyes, a dimming to his smile that made the younger man’s heart ache a little more. “You’ll hurt in here?” he asked with a light touch of his hand over Jensen’s chest.

Jensen had to swallow a few times, accepting that Jared was smarter than he’d given him credit for. “Yeah, I’ll hurt since I’ve already, in just the 24 hours or so that I’ve known you, fallen hard for you, Jared,” he admitted but was quick to continue. “But it’s a risk I’ll take. Will you?” he asked carefully, knowing the next step was Jared’s.

“Will… will you kiss me?” Jared might still be scared but he was also still a little too curious for his own good— or so his mother had always told him.

“Yeah, I’ll kiss you when you’re ready for me to,” Jensen chuckled but then felt fingers curling into his t-shirt and suddenly felt something tightening inside him. “Jay?”

Jared understood what he was about to do might seem a little forward and he knew the man he’d been when alive would never have had the guts to do what was suddenly popping into his head. “Kiss me now?”

Jensen felt like his head would explode by the weight of those words as he understood the step Jared was taking even if the younger man might not. He also felt Jared’s fingers shaking where they’d clenched into his shirt as his nerves began to take over and like before, the answer came to Jensen straight from his heart.

“God, yes,” he said and slipped his hand to curve around the back of Jared’s neck while his other cupped his cheek to meet dark wary eyes with a slow smile before lightly touching their lips together in a slow, soft, sweet kiss that held no heat, no pressure… just a light promise of better days ahead if the dark power swirling around the old house didn’t destroy them first.

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**Breaking Free**

**Chapter Seven**

The first touch of Jensen’s lips sent Jared Padalecki’s head into a spin and caused a reaction in his body that the younger man had never felt before.

Jared had never been kissed, so he wasn’t certain what to expect or how it was supposed to be happen. A part of him still expected pain, but when Jensen kissed him there was barely any pressure at all; only a light brushing of lips over his and it took him a second to break past his fears to try to kiss back.

He knew he had no skills or experience, so Jared hoped he didn’t disappoint Jensen as he heard a soft sound that it took him another moment to realize had come from him and felt Jensen’s lips curve more as he kept the kiss slow and gentle.

While he hadn’t had any serious relationships, Jensen had kissed and been kissed plenty, and while Jared’s first attempt at kissing him back wasn’t the greatest he’d had, it was also by far not the _worst,_ which impressed Jensen a lot.

He felt shaking fingers tighten in his shirt and could feel Jared getting edgy for something more but not understanding what or how to ask for it since Jensen accepted and understood that all of Jared’s knowledge about sex or physical touch had come at the hands of cruel men who’d just wanted to hurt him.

Jensen smoothed his fingertips over Jared’s face while slipping his other arm around the younger man to bring him closer; careful to still keep the kisses light as he tried to show Jared he could enjoy something without shame or pain.

He lost track of how long they’d been sharing kisses on the sofa when slowly he felt Jared’s arms slid around to return the embrace. Jensen was just about to try deepening the kiss when suddenly, he felt the boy in his arms stiffen with a gasping jerk just as the whole house shook with a thunderous noise that sounded like part thunder and part enraged scream. As the windows shook, an oppressive feeling began to fill the living room.

“Jensen?” Jared’s eyes were wide with fear; fear that only got worse when his hand began to fade. “He’s… close. He must have learned or sensed… ah!” he cried out as his shoulder suddenly started to burn. “Jensen!”

Jensen swore under his breath as he grabbed Jared by the shoulders to hold him still when he went to push back to the corner of the sofa. “He’s not getting in this house, Jay,” he promised and could tell that was probably another reason for the anger. “He can’t hurt you anymore, sweetheart. He only can if you still give him that power over you and giving into the fear he’s instilled will do that.

“He lost that power to hurt you when your body died, but he knows the fear he put in you of him, of his power, will keep you afraid of him,” he slipped his hands up to frame Jared’s pale face so he could look at him. “He might have power still but not over you. There is something much more powerful than his dark magic; something that will protect you from him until we break the curse fully.”

“W-what?” Jared asked, eyes jerking to the window to see black shadows like banging on them. Then he looked back when he felt the pain going away, despite the noise outside, and saw Jensen’s one hand had moved to lay over the back of his shoulder while his other stayed on his cheek. “J-Jen?”

It didn’t click with Jared the name he’d used and while Jensen heard it, he let it go for the moment because he wanted Jared’s attention on him and off his still vivid fears while the house continued to shake. Jensen noticed it shook less as Jared’s focus went back to him; an act that told the psychologist that his hunch was correct and that the power needed Jared’s fear to feed it.

“Me and the strength of what I feel for you,” Jensen told him seriously, finding that he adored the little looks of confused wonder Jared gave him when he said how he felt for him and decided to take one more step… more of a leap actually. “I know this might seem sudden and you might not understand it or believe me yet but… I love you, Jared. I. Love. You.” He made sure to repeat and stress each word while moving closer until he had Jared back in his arms and felt the boy cling to him while burying his face against his neck. “I will keep you safe and I will break that curse, but I need you to believe in me, Jay. If you believe in nothing else these days, and I can understand why you wouldn’t, I need you to believe in me.  Believe in what could be us for this short time and…”

Jared lifted his head enough to show wet eyes, pale cheeks to stare at Jensen. “I do believe in you, Jensen,” he said and then met the lips that caught his in a slightly deeper kiss that still didn’t hurt him but made him feel safe and loved.  He focused on the feelings, even though he still had doubts to how that would work out given that he was basically still dead.

He lost himself in the kiss, in the feel of feeling another man’s hands on him and knowing he wasn’t going to be hurt or forced to do vile things or have them done to him. Jared knew his inexperience might be a problem but right then all he knew was the more he relaxed in Jensen’s arms the less his shoulder burned. The less the house shook until suddenly it was all silent; the foul smell that had also been trying to seep in down the chimney also vanished.

“It’s… gone?” he asked after Jensen had slowly broken the kiss with a warm smile and a loving touch down Jared’s cheek.

“The power is, but I think now I have to go kick some asshole off my property,” Jensen cocked his head when he heard a car pulling up the drive. “I also need to put some wards that my friend told me about on the property line it seems. Go up to the attic room and wait for me, Jared. I don’t know how he might be connected with this mess, but this Welling didn’t make a good impression on me… Jay? Hey? What’s wrong?” he asked when suddenly Jared’s hands were clinging to his, head shaking desperately.

Jared wasn’t sure who was coming… until he heard a sharp cold voice calling for Jensen to come out of the house. Then it was all he could do to remember what Jensen had said about the strength of his feelings for him being stronger than the witch’s power.

“No, don’t go out there, Jen,” he said as he tried to tug Jensen back down to the sofa with him as he went to stand up to head for the door. “Please. Please don’t go out there with him. He’ll hurt you.”

“He’s pissed because Miss Porter didn’t sell to him or something and he was told to stay off the property so this must be his childish way of trying to look tough for the new guy in town,” Jensen felt a wave of dizziness come over him when he finally managed to get to his feet. Seeing the building fear in Jared’s eyes but noticing this time when he got scared that he didn’t fade out. “Jared, I might look like some nerd from the West Coast who doesn’t know what I’m doing, but I know how to defend myself against jackasses like this Tom Well… oh crap.”

Both of Jared’s parents had told him the Wellings’ had been the ones who’d caused the trouble, who’d started the lies to be fed to the village. Both had said it was a Welling who had been the witch back in those days and Jensen had just assumed if the witch was still living in this time that he was using a modern day descendant as his vessel for causing harm and trouble. Now as he watched Jared’s eyes and saw him start to shake in fear when the voice shouted again, something clicked.

“That’s him, isn’t it?” he asked, sitting back down beside Jared and immediately the boy was in his arms, shaking and trying to talk but his words were breaking off as he tried to explain to Jensen why he shouldn’t go out the door to face the angry sounding Welling. “Welling isn’t a just descendant of the family that hurt you. He’s the bastard that’s so damn obsessed with you that he trapped you here,” he tipped Jared’s face back to see the answer by the frightened eyes. “He’s the damn witch.”

Jared nodded shakily. “People… think he’s a descendant but he’s… not. He’s actually the last of the line because he… killed his family off so he’d get all the wealth and land but… his mother had already sold this place back to the Porters’. Jen… I don’t want him to hurt you over me. I…” he stopped, lost at the words he wanted to use.

“The attic room is supposed to safe against his power. Go up there and wait for me,” Jensen realized this was a little more than he’d bargained on dealing with so soon. He also knew if he didn’t face the man now, that Jared would never fully believe he could be safe from him. “Jay, I’m not scared of him. This is my property now. He has no power here, or over me, or over you, but I don’t want you to have to face him this soon so go wait up there for me and no matter what you hear do not come out of the house,” he told him.  He got Jared to his feet to nudge him gently to the steps; he could hear his room of equipment going off and guessed they might be responding to the earlier power. “Go. This won’t take long.”

Jared hesitated, foot on the step. He didn’t want to let Jensen face the evil Welling alone but he also wasn’t sure he had the courage to face him yet without vanishing out of years of terror. The young man knew his parents would be ashamed of the coward their son had been turned into, but he just didn’t think he could see the man yet.

“Jensen?” he called out as he started to go up the steps and saw Jensen look back at him. “I… love you too and I do trust you and believe in you. Don’t get hurt?”

“I won’t,” Jensen promised while trying to process why hearing Jared say he loved him back caused an odd little jump to his heart that made him even more determined to protect this boy and free him, even at the cost of losing him. “Go on up and stay there until I come up.”

Jensen waited until he heard the door to the attic room open and then slowly close, as if Jared still wasn’t sure about following his orders to stay upstairs. The moment it did, he made a grab for his notebook where a friend from California had written down some things she thought might come in handy, and now Jensen was glad that Gen was a paranoid little witch who had flat out said he’d need her help before this was over.

Jerking open the front door, he stepped out to notice that the arrogant Welling hadn’t come any farther than the old well that still sat in the middle of the yard. “Elena told you the last time that you weren’t welcome here. That opinion hasn’t changed any and won’t be, so take your ass off my property and keep it off. The next time you come here I’m calling the local sheriff.”

Tom Welling’s gaze was pure arrogance as he looked at Jensen. “If you think the local law will do anything to me then you’re in for a rude lesson, boy,” he said in a deep, cold tone; disgusted that this little nobody would dare stand up to him or between what he deemed as rightfully his. “You’re new here. You don’t understand how things work or who runs things in this little dump of a village,” he sneered while taking another step and expected Jensen to back up or show signs of fear like he was used to from others, only to be confronted by hard green eyes.

“That old woman had no right to sell you what was supposed to be my families. She’s never sold to any of the other losers who thought they could make a go on this land. This isn’t a good place to live, Ackles,” he said firmly while shooting a glare to the barn and then back to the house. “You’re way out of your league in what you thought you might find here. I’ll buy this place from you at triple what you paid for it before you see just what a handful owning it can be.”

“Why do you want it so bad if it’s such a hassle then?” Jensen asked while keeping his one hand in the pocket of his jeans while his other was fisted loose at his side.

There was no mistaking the cold oppressive energy he could feel pouring off the man in front of him. Tom Welling might look only a few years older than Jensen but he now understood just how much older he was and also how dangerous he probably could be… if given the chance. Jensen didn’t plan on giving him that chance if he could help it.

“It was originally my family’s property and I want it back,” Tom replied as if Jensen was stupid.

“No, not originally it wasn’t,” Jensen corrected and saw the way the man’s face tightened. Jensen recognized the anger there as well and both his common sense and his trained psychology side saw the psychopathic side in Tom Welling which would make him even more dangerous. “Originally it belonged to the Padalecki’s; an innocent family that your family destroyed with lies and deceit… all over an obsession with an innocent boy.”

Tom’s lips thinned. “He wasn’t innocent. He was born a sinner. He was tainted early on, either at birth because his mother laid with someone not of our faith or culture, or later when he made a pact with Satan,” he took another step only to stop with a frown. “You came here looking for legends and stories, but you have no idea what you have found or what it could do to you if you don’t leave here before the same fate that has happened to others happens to you.”

“Huh,” Jensen grunted as he felt a wave of dizzying cold trying to seep into his pores and knew what it was; closing the hand in his pocket around what he’d slipped in there before stepping outside. He knew he was supposed to be scared, to step back or give in to the demands to sell this property.

Jensen knew to most he looked geeky or like your typical, too smart, rich guy playing games since even his fellow psychologists rarely took him serious despite the degrees he’d managed to get at such a young age. He’d sensed that Welling had looked down on him from the moment he’d first arrived and now it was worse since Jensen was all that stood between him and what he wanted most: Jared.

The other man might say he wanted the property, but Jensen had no doubt in his mind that it was actually Jared he still wanted to claim and to keep trapped here under his thumb.

“That sounds like a threat to me,” he commented while stepping up to the well, not going past it but holding the cold eyes. “You’re used to getting your way, aren’t you?” he asked with a tight smirk, placing his hand on the cool stone of the wall to let what he’d removed from his pocket drop into the center. He heard it hit actual water which said the well wasn’t dry, even if it might not be drinkable. “You’re what we call in the psychology field a sociopath who borders on extreme psychopathic with dangerous obsessive tendencies. Tell me something, Mr. Welling… did your father, the Pastor behind so much hate and fear here in Porterville, know not only that his oldest son was a witch but that you were also homosexual and a _deviant_ homosexual at that?”

The sudden wave of pure hate that hit Jensen moved him back a step. He caught a flash of black in what had been deep blue eyes as he held that gaze firmly before Tom managed to school his obviously furious features back to a tight scowl. “You call me names when you…” he started to scoff only to stop when he found he couldn’t take another step past the well. “You bastard.”

“No, actually, despite them not being thrilled that their only son is gay, I do have two happily married parents,” Jensen smirked, while turning his other hand so the palm was facing out to show the hastily scrawled in red ink mark he’d gotten out of his notes. “I also happen to have a friend in California who is an actual witch of white magic, who gave me some tips and pointers in case I stumbled onto any… dark magic so to speak, and it looks like Gen’s little tricks do work against you.”

Tom stared at Jensen for several long moments before sneering. “So the old woman told you her suspicions about who I am,” he laughed as if Jensen’s information didn’t mean anything to him. “No one in this town will believe that I’m a witch, much less that I’m immortal or…”

“Oh, I think they would if I had proof to show them, which I don’t at that moment but I will soon,” Jensen ignored the icy cold stabs of pain currently shooting through his body. “I also think if those people who have been so afraid of you knew it was the fear giving you power, that if they stopped fearing you that you’d lose that power… just like you’re losing it over Jared.

“And Miss Porter didn’t really tell me anything. The spirits of Jared’s parents told me most of it and then Jared revealed your true identity just by the fear he still had of your voice when you arrived,” he watched the rage build and knew the danger he could be in, but had to see this through if for no other reason than to prove to Jared if someone stood up to Welling that his power would diminish. “You’ve already lost power over him. You felt it earlier, so let me drop something else on you before I kick your goddamn ass off my property.

“You told him that no one would care for him, no one would love him because of what he was. You put it in his head that he was nothing short of a monster when it was the other way around. You were and _are_ the monster, Welling,” Jensen took two steps forward to shove with both hands against the stunned man’s chest, knocking him back towards his fancy car. “You hid behind your father’s sermons. You pretended you were a God fearing Puritan, even while you were so obsessed with Jared that you had to have his family killed to get to him.

“You kept an innocent boy prisoner for your own sexual needs, while your too close-minded father used him as a slave on his own land, whipping him raw! Even when he was dying from probably pneumonia and infection from the wounds you people inflicted on him for two years, you couldn’t just let go and move on to another helpless boy in this village or the next one. You had to curse a soul that is still pure, despite the damage done to it by you!

“You’ve kept him trapped, scared, and confused for 319 years and you kept hurting him, you’ve kept him believing that he’d be here forever. Well guess what? He’s not going to be your toy any longer,” Jensen heard a low growl and knew it was the beast but ignored it to hold the hateful glare staring back at him. “He’s already breaking through your so-called curse. You can’t hurt him anymore, Welling. You won’t hurt anyone again or ugh!”

Jensen felt the burning pain sear up his arm and then through his chest; he was picked up and shoved two feet back, landing hard on the gravel. He was stunned but refused to show fear like expected.

“You have no power, whelp. You are nothing to keep me from claiming what I made mine the first time I took him, when I put my mark on him!” Welling shouted, furious and enraged that someone like Jensen thought he could stand up to him, much less refuse him. “You will never break my power over him regardless of what you think or the lies you tell him. You are nothing!”

“I… I don’t think you’re so confident about that or else you wouldn’t be showing your true nature to me right now,” Jensen pushed to one knee to look up into Welling’s face, feeling a slash of something across his cheek that burned like fire and then ice. “I’m not scared of you,” he spat out, hearing the growl, this time closer, and also thought he heard Jared shouting from inside the house; he hoped the boy stayed inside because it was taking all Jensen had right then to focus on staying calm when common sense was screaming at him to run.

“Fear is your power base; fear and people who still believe in the old time superstitions. I don’t fear you because this is my land, my house, my property and you have no goddamn power over me. I have too many degrees to be superstitious about what you think you can do,” he went on tightly while pulling himself to his feet, using the well for support. “I don’t deny the power your spells might have, but I also know I won’t allow you to hurt Jared anymore, because you were wrong about something else you pompous jackass. _I_ care for him. _I_ love him and I will see him free from you!”

Welling’s face went beet red in fury. It had been centuries since anyone had dared to stand up to him like Jensen was right then, especially over someone like his former personal toy who was nothing more than a piece of meat to someone like Tom Welling.

He had felt the change earlier that told him that something was happening, that he had not given permission to and would find a way to halt it. He would keep his toy the way he liked him or he’d make sure no one else could have him. He would also make certain that one Dr. Jensen Ackles paid painfully for his interference and for trying to keep him from having what would be his again.

“You are making a big mistake by refusing me, Ackles,” he spat in disgust, looking up at a sound from the house to get even angrier by what he saw for just a second in the attic window before throwing a harsh look back to Jensen. “You know nothing about this place or what it will take to free him. You will die before I let you get between me and my toy. Think on… what?” he started to toss out a spell to take the arrogant mortal to his knees only to gasp when it felt like a wall came back to hit him.

“Get off my property,” Jensen growled. Silently relieved the item he’d tossed into the well as a ward to help protect the property finally decided to take effect; he had a hunch whatever the witch had been about to do would’ve hurt. He might not be scared but he also knew he couldn’t help Jared if he was hurt too badly. “Get off and take your threats to Jared with you.”

Welling sneered. “I’ll leave but you haven’t seen the last of me and neither has he,” he warned coldly as he got back into his car, tires spinning dirt and gravel as he tore down the driveway.

Jensen stood beside the well to watch the dust settle before letting out a shaky breath. “I know and that’s why I have to find out how to stop you and also to let him go, when I have to.”

Waiting several moments to see if the man was gone, Jensen turned to go back inside when he was hit by a solid weight as Jared suddenly flew out the front door in his haste to get to him, knocking them both to the ground.

“Jay, what…?” Jensen barely had time to figure out he wasn’t being attacked to twist his body to be certain he took the brunt of the fall backwards. Arms automatically going up and around the younger man as he felt Jared’s shaking ones wrapping around him, while burying his face against Jensen’s neck with broken, barely legible words pouring free.

Jared had paced the attic room restlessly until he couldn’t take it anymore and had to peek out the window. He’d noticed Jensen leaning heavily on the well and before he’d jerked back, he’d seen the rage on his longtime captor’s face at the fact that Jensen was standing up to him.

The moment he heard the car leave however, Jared was down the steps and out the door. He needed to see Jensen, to touch him, and reassure himself that he was okay. With his heart in his throat and Jensen’s name on his lips, Jared banged out the front door and right into the man himself.

It took several seconds for Jared to realize he’d not only knocked Jensen down but had been talking non-stop for the last several moments. He’d mostly had his face buried in the curve of Jensen’s neck so he doubted if the man had heard or understood anything he’d said, so he slowly started to move back only to feel strong arms tighten to hold him still.

“It’s okay, Jared; I’m okay and so are you now,” Jensen reassured the shaking boy as he stayed where he was on the ground to keep Jared in his arms, hand gentle when it slowly rubbed reassuring circles against his back until he felt him start to relax a little.

Jensen had only caught a few broken, practically sobbed words, but those that he did told him that Jared had either seen or heard too much of his confrontation with Welling and it had succeeded in scaring him. It took Jensen a second or two to catch his breath after he’d taken the brunt of both his weight and Jared’s on the fall, forcing the air out of his lungs.

Once he could breathe, and therefore talk, he began to soothe Jared; wrapping his arms around him when he felt him start to move away and rubbing his hand over his back while telling him things that Jensen hoped he could make happen.

Only once he felt Jared calming down enough that his breathing slowed and he drew in a deep breath, did Jensen move to sit up. He felt the pain in his back and shoulders where he’d hit gravel but ignored that in favor of wiping the back of his knuckles over a wet cheek from tears he didn’t think Jared had known he’d shed. “I thought I told you to stay in the house,” he murmured but smiled to let Jared know he wasn’t angry with him.

“He hurt you. I… I… heard him. I…s aw you fall and you’re…” Jared’s wide eyes went to a scratch on Jensen’s face that he realized that he’d gotten. “He’ll never stop, Jensen. He’ll… he’ll kill you before you can free me. He hates you for having this land and he’ll hate you more now because you stood up to him,” he paused to cock his head to side, staring at Jensen with an almost stunned innocence. “You… stood up to him for me?”

Because the tone was just a little too questioning for Jensen’s liking, he stopped in his attempt to get to his feet to kneel where he was on the hard gravel to look Jared in the eyes after cupping his face between his hands. “I said I love you, Jared. I wouldn’t have said that if I hadn’t meant it. I meant it and I also meant that I will free you from him and this place,” he let the pad of his thumb brush over Jared’s cheek. “I will stand up for you, I will protect you until you can cross and be with your family.”

There had been the barest of wobbles in Jensen’s deep husky voice when he said this last thing but Jared was still so fascinated by the depth of green staring back at him. That Jensen had faced down Welling for him that he missed the obvious sign of how much letting go might hurt the other man.

“He said he’d be back,” Jared murmured as he stood, hands going to Jensen to help him up and steadying him when he swayed from both being tossed earlier and then hitting the ground so hard. “Jensen, I really don’t want him to hurt you or anyone over me. I’ve been… here for… a long time and…”

Leading Jared back into the house, Jensen headed to the kitchen to get some pain pills and then coffee while noticing that Jared seemed a little unsure of his place now. Swallowing the pills with cold coffee, Jensen then crossed back to take Jared’s hands in his and could feel them shaking.

“You’ve been here too long, sweetheart.” Jensen remarked quietly as he reached up to brush his fingers back through long dark hair that tended to fall into Jared’s face and made him look even younger than Jensen figured he was. “I know you miss your family. You deserve to be with them. You deserve to be happy, Jay.”

Jared was still adjusting to the feeling of warm fingers touching him painlessly so it took him a little bit to catch up with Jensen’s words. Then he was turning his head to the side to stare at the man like a confused kid. “What if I’m happy with you, Jen?” he asked, only this time he caught his words and tensed, fearing Jensen’s reaction to the name when he felt soft lips touch his. “Can… can I call you that?”

“Normally I hate that nickname,” Jensen began but was quick to kiss Jared again when he started to apologize. “The first time you used it though it felt… right to hear it said by you. I think, like the reason I’ve never let myself fall in love until I met the right man, hearing that nickname was also meant to be said by that man and it seems like that man is you, Jared.”

Jared felt something loosen in his chest and let Jensen tug him into his arms again to share an embrace while a piece of Jared’s mind still worried about the past as well as the future. He worried about Jensen but not just out of fear of what Welling might do to stop him but Jared also worried about what would happen if he did cross over and left Jensen, since he honestly felt the man’s words about loving him were true.

“I wish we could break the curse but I could stay with you,” he whispered as they stood in the kitchen wrapped in each other’s arms. “I… I love you Jensen. I know I don’t know how to love you but… I want to learn. I want to learn what it means to be real while I am and to touch you like you touch me and make you happy.”

Those words made Jensen long for the same things. He’d known he’d fallen hard for this boy but had still been certain he could let go when he needed to because as a professional psychologist he tried to remind himself that Jared was technically still dead and had been for several hundred years.

The professional side knew that and knew what he needed to do, suddenly Jensen also found himself not giving a damn about the logical side of things. He realized Jared was someone he genuinely cared for and wanted to see him safe from the pain and fear the damn witch had put him through and was still trying to put him through.

Jensen sadly knew to do that, he would have to let go; an act that would break his heart but he knew to free Jared fully he needed to cross over. He’d find a way to get them both through this while fighting to find what was needed to help Jared.

“You don’t have to do anything to make me happy, Jared,” he told him before stepping back to glance toward the steps where he could still hear his machines. “Let’s go check out what books your father pulled out for me to see, check the results of those machines in case any of it can be used later against that dick, and then you and I will have to sit down and see if we can learn just what it is that Welling thinks I won’t find in order to fully free you from this curse.”

Jared had been thinking about that while pacing the attic room earlier. At first he’d thought it would be as simple as just finding someone to care for him for him as a person and not an object, but now he feared he might know what that other thing could be and if that was the case? Then he knew he needed to tell Jensen so he wouldn’t waste his time trying to help him since it would be futile.

“Jen… wait,” he laid a hand on Jensen’s arm when the man went to turn toward the stairs. “I… I think I might know what he meant. When he said you’d never find that last thing needed to free me from him? I-I think I know what it is and if that is it then… then you might as well stop and just let me go back to being a ghost cause he’s right. You won’t find it, or not before he hurts you.”

Jensen turned with a frown. He didn’t like the sudden look of defeat he could see on Jared’s face as the young man chewed his bottom lip. “Tell me what you think it is and then we’ll see about finding it,” he said while going on seriously. “I’m not giving up on this or you that easily, Jared. Now… what do you think this all so important missing piece of this puzzle might be?”

“My body.”

**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

**Breaking Free**

**Chapter Eight**

“‘ _My body._ ’”

Those two single words still haunted Jensen Ackles even a week and a half later as he fought back curses and other interesting phrases he’d picked up from both Chris Kane and when he used to go to his grandparents ranch in Texas.

The sadness, the fear that had been in Jared’s shaky voice when he revealed what he feared the last piece of the puzzle might be, had bothered Jensen even as he chose to just hold him on the sofa until they were both calm again.

Jensen recalled Elena Porter mentioning something about cursed cuffs or something still being on Jared when he was buried, but he would have to look in the book she left to see if there was anything mentioned.

He and Jared then went to the attic to see what books had been pulled out by the spirit of his father and Jensen laid them out to go through later. Most of them appeared to be old medical books, some books on lore, and one was so fragile looking that Jensen was afraid to touch it.

Afterwards, he sat up his laptop on the kitchen table since Jared seemed more content in the kitchen and tried to get his friend back in California on a Skype call to get some advice and any tips the young woman might be able to give him. Of course, this was after he sat through Gen’s excited ramble of how only he could go across the country to hunt ghosts and actually meet one.

Jared had stayed far back from the laptop when Jensen first turned it on because out of all the modern day inventions he’d seen from the others who had come here over the years, it had always been the electronics that startled and confused him the most. He’d also seemed to have an adverse effect on most of them before but when Jensen finally coaxed him close and he saw that nothing happened, he slowly began to get more curious.

Jared touched the small keys and moved his finger as Jensen instructed to see the tiny arrow move across the screen in whatever direction he moved. He gasped when an amused Jensen brought up something with moving pictures and sounds, much like the big box some people used to have and he noticed Jensen had sitting in the living room.

“When you feel more comfortable around the laptop or even my iPad, I can bring up some history pages so you can catch up on things that have happened outside of this area.” Jensen told him once he got Jared back to the table after a too loud, too explicit video had popped up on his YouTube page. Jensen vowed to hurt Chris for playing with it without telling him since the _last_ thing he wanted to explain to a young Puritan man was gay porn.

“I… I used to like to learn about things but back then certain topics were frowned upon by the Church.” Jared touched the back of the slim box as he sat beside Jensen at the table, slowly trying to decide which of the containers of snacks he liked the best after Jensen had sat out several he’d located in the well-stocked pantry. “How do all the sounds and images get into this box?” he asked curiously and then blinked as the screen suddenly went from moving puppies to a young woman with dark hair and big dark eyes. “Is she in that box?”

“No, Gen is back in California which is across the country on that map I showed you,” Jensen chuckled as Jared leaned closer to the screen while Gen Cortese blinked at the stranger who was looking back. Jared moved away to lean closer to Jensen when the young woman began to speak.

Between explaining what was happening to Gen and then calming Jared down when he thought the dark haired young woman was yelling and was angry, Jensen swore it felt like his head might explode.

“Jay, calm down before you fade out,” he was quick to say when he noticed one of Jared’s hands getting fuzzy when he was worked up. “Gen’s not angry that I met you or that you’re solid now while we work to free your spirit. She’s just a little surprised.” Jensen knew that was a small understatement but figured it would work as Jared slowly began to stop shaking and slowly eased back closer to the table after he’d moved into the living room. “Plus she’s probably a little jealous since she’s never met a spirit before and I’m not here a day and I meet you.”

Genevieve Cortese had met Jensen during his Junior year at Berkley and they quickly became good friends. He’d been honest that he was gay and she’d been honest that she was a witch, so they built their friendship on honesty and had gone from there.

She knew that as a psychologist, Jensen wasn’t supposed to believe in witches or ghosts or other things that he actually found fascinating and didn’t mock, but Gen also realized that Jensen often was a little too naïve about the darker things that he didn’t quite believe in yet.

When he’d told her of his plans to move to Massachusetts to prove or disprove the myths surrounding a local urban myth and possible curse, Gen had bit her tongue to keep from saying too much and possibly discouraging her friend.

Jensen wasn’t like any man she’d ever met. He also wasn’t as clinical or stuffy in his field either, but it had still worried her after she began to look into the background of the place herself. She had asked a few friends from the area their own opinions of Porterville, the old Padalecki farm, and whether or not the curse and ghost legends might be real so she could judge if Jensen might be in danger or setting himself up to fail.

The moment almost all of her friends came back with very dark, very ominous stories as well as rumors that perhaps the old witch might not be as dead as the locals liked to think, then she’d been really concerned. Now as she looked at Jensen, the young man he swore was the trapped spirit, and listened to him tell her about Jared’s curse as well as his own meeting with the witch in question, Gen was fighting every urge to shout at the man to get the hell out of there and come home.

Gen was raised from a long line of witches but made a living appealing to the side the local tourists expected to see while keeping her main power hidden, except for special cases or to help a friend that she now feared had gotten in way over his head.

It was easy for her to see that Jensen felt more than he was saying for the handsome young man who Gen found adorable even before a shy smile was aimed her way after Jensen got him to believe that she wasn’t angry or upset at either of them. She had pried it out of her usually close-mouthed friend about his odd dreams, so she suspected that somehow Jensen had been meant to go to Porterville, that he’d been meant to meet Jared. It was the helping him to break the curse and cross into the light that she feared might not be easy, now especially.

“If whatever chains he was cuffed with were etched with some kind of binding spell, if they were left on him when he was buried wherever this guy buried his remains, then he is still bound to that spell,” she finally said once Jensen’s focus returned to the Skype call. He’d gotten Jared some water when one of the potato chips he’d been munching on didn’t sit well with the young man and Jared declared they must have been made with something foul to begin with. “Do you know where the body’s buried? Jensen?”

“Huh? Oh, not yet.” Jensen sat back down once he was certain Jared wasn’t going to be sick and he’d moved the pickle and sour cream chips off the table. “I… think I have a clue but it’ll probably take me a year to move all the crap out of that barn just to get to that spot,” he told her and then explained while feeling Jared tensing beside him. “When I was in the barn the other night, I noticed a spot in the back, way in the back corner that looked to have been a stall or something. I think Jared was trying to keep me from going back there… weren’t you, Jay?” he glanced beside him to see fear staring back at him and Jensen felt his heart hurt for the pain this boy endured. “That’s where you were kept, isn’t it? Back in that corner stall… that’s where they held you, where he hurt you?”

Jared glanced at the screen where the pretty young woman’s face was still showing before dropping his chin to his chest and giving a short nod, fingers tightening into a fist on his lap as he struggled to not allow those memories to enter his mind or scare him since he was trying to believe Jensen’s statements that his fear fed the witch’s power.

“It’s… it’s bad in there,” he finally whispered, unable to look up. He kept his eyes lowered until he felt a warm hand touch his and he slowly lifted his eyes enough to see Jensen’s hand had closed over his. “I… I was scared if you went there that you’d be hurt. He… he doesn’t like anyone to be in the barn or the shed and that’s why the dog tried to attack you.”

“The demon dog is not going to hurt either of us again, Jared,” Jensen assured him while gently squeezing his hand and glancing back at Gen. “I know you wrote some things in my notebook but… do you happen to have anything a little stronger so I can at least protect Jared in the house or keep that jackass and his demon mutt off the property?”

Gen had gotten the whole part of the story where some red eyed creature had clawed Jared up when he’d tried to protect Jensen and just the thought of Jensen coming into contact with something not even she had believed were real scared her.

“I’ll email you some other spells as well as some links to a few sites online that might help you. I’ll also send you a couple numbers for people I know in Salem or the surrounding areas that might be able to give you either some help with lore or spells or a strong back.” Gen said and once Jensen decided it was time to cut the call off, she sighed before speaking. “Jensen? Just… be careful with this,” she urged softly. “I know you want to help him but… is it worth getting hurt yourself or… even getting killed over?”

“Yeah, he is. Thanks Gen.” Jensen disconnected the call and was reaching over to catch Jared’s hand to stop him from pulling away as what Gen said sank in to the young man. “You are worth risking my life to help, Jared. I don’t want you to doubt that or to be afraid. I will help you. I will find your body and we will set you free to be with your family. You will be free of him and this place,” he said quietly while battling back the words that almost came only to realize Jared was thinking similar ones himself.

“But I’ll have to say goodbye to you and you’ll be alone.” Jared found this even more hurtful to his heart than when he would think of his family and his own death. “Isn’t there a way to make him go away and for me to stay with you, even if I am technically dead?” he asked softly, adding— with just a hint of dimples-- a small, shy smile. “I think my parents would understand if I don’t join them right away.”

Jensen swore he heard a low chuckle from somewhere but chose to ignore it for the moment to focus on Jared and how much he wished he could find a way to make that happen. He wanted to reassure Jared that going into the light was what was best for him after so long of being trapped and tormented. He wanted to tell him that it would be okay for him to let go when they freed him from Welling’s curse and to not worry about him. That’s what Jensen _wanted_ to say, what he knew he _should_ say… If anything, he could’ve made himself say that.

“I wish we could, Jay,” he murmured and then just let Jared come into his arms to hold onto him while silently kicking his own ass for allowing it to go so far this soon with Jared when every piece of Jensen knew he had to let him go to save him.

Because he did know. He knew in his heart that he would have to let Jared go, and because Jensen didn’t want to make it any harder on either of them when that time came, he decided that night to try not to let himself fall any deeper in love than he was or let Jared fall any deeper for him. But by the next day, Jensen knew it was far too late for that and would just make sure to make the most of this time as they could.

Jared was shy and uneasy around the equipment but like with the laptop, once Jensen explained what each piece did and that nothing would hurt him, he became a little more curious. He jumped when the one small meter still made noise when he passed his hand over it but Jensen noticed not as much as it had before.

Jensen was trying to decipher some readings and Jared had curled up on the bed in that room to carefully go through the book Elena Porter had left when the young man suddenly looked up. “My sister wrote this.”

Jensen had read the book but not that closely yet as he’d been busy trying to do some online research since his talk with Gen and figure out the best way to get to that part of the barn without attracting the attention of any demon mutts. He’d been looking at various readouts from the last few days to see the strongest spikes must have come when the changes happened to make Jared solid and when Welling used his power against Jensen.

Now, he noticed smaller changes that told him the witch had been trying to find a way around the minor wards Jensen had put up according to the notes Gen had written down. He glanced toward the bed to see Jared’s eyes were wet as he put the pieces together of who had written in the journal originally.

“Helena… I can still see her crying as she was taken from Mother that day. I never saw her again and no one would ever tell me who she was with or who raised her.” Jared turned the pages back to show Jensen one spot where it was very clear the now young woman had been told various stories about that day until finally being told the truth when she was deemed old enough. “She never believed the lies and says no one in the direct family did, but they were scared of the Pastor and what he could bring on those who tried to free me. She… they tried to make the Governor free me but… my Uncle died shortly after those attempts were started and the family feared for their own lives.”

Jensen took the journal to read the writing of a young woman who was determined to try to fix the errors done to her family. He read how Helena Padalecki had become Helena Porter, an act that her family had hoped would protect the young girl and also to hopefully help her forget the horror of that fateful day.

“‘ _Jared was never forgotten even though his name could only be spoken in whispers in the house I grew up in because the family feared the evil one’s power. My grandmother had her suspicions to who the witch was_ , _but of course no one would believe her as no one in town was brave enough to stand up to that so-called man of God and tell him that his son was the Devil spawn, not my brother._

 _“‘When my Uncle died suddenly_ , _all hopes to free Jared from their abuse, the torment, was lost because the family feared further harm. I was told to forget him then, to never mention the name I was given at birth_ , _and to never pass this knowledge on when I married_. _But while I cared for the family of my mother, I also despised them for not only failing her but allowing that monster to hurt and eventually kill Jared._

 _“‘No one ever learned of the exact details_ , _though one of the men who worked on the land that had been my family’s told a cousin how badly my brother’s body looked_ , _broken and abused in the brief look he got before that awful son of the Pastor hid Jared’s body before burying it still in its shackles where no one could find it. Even in death, Jared will not be free_ , _but as I write this_ , _I swear on the lives of my children and their own that one day the truth of my brother’s plight will come out. He will be freed and that evil spawn of Satan will burn slowly_ _for all the crimes he’s committed._ ’”

Closing the journal and placing it carefully aside, Jensen reached out and just let Jared lean against him as it began to sink in with the young man that he hadn’t been forgotten and that people had tried, albeit not well, to free him from his imprisonment.

“You were still loved then and…” he paused to gently nudge a lowered chin up to look into hazel eyes to offer a slow smile. “…you’re loved now. No more pain or reason to fear, Jared. That so-called witch held power once and he might still think he can scare some of the townspeople because of too many urban legends, but he can’t scare me. I will find your body and we will get you back with your family. Okay?”

Jared had been told so many bad things during those two years about how he’d disgraced his family and how whatever had been left of his mother’s family despised and hated him for how wicked he was. He’d died thinking, believing that he’d been forgotten. Now as he realized he hadn’t been, he felt another little knot uncurl in his chest while he relaxed more against the solid weight of Jensen’s chest.

He longed to see his parents and his sisters again but still, Jared had this uneasy feeling that it wasn’t his time yet. He wasn’t sure if that was his fear of Welling’s power stopping them from breaking the curse fully or his growing love for this man who’d come here with one goal in mind but was now determined to help him even at the risk to his own life.

“I… love you Jensen,” he said softly, the words actually seemed to be coming easier to him now. Jared saw Jensen’s smile and felt his heart jump as he understood it was because he’d said those words that Jensen seemed happier. “I… promise me though, if he tries to hurt you, if you get hurt too badly that you’ll… let me… hmm.”

Jensen’s lips touched Jared’s and cut off what the young psychologist knew was trying to be said as Jared learned how to express his feelings without shame or fear of old Puritan beliefs.

“I will let you go to the light,” Jensen said in between soft kisses over Jared’s lips, his cheeks, his brow, and even his closed eyelids. “I will let you go to your parents, but I will not let you go back into that barn as a scared, lost boy to be hurt and tormented by some obsessed asshole.” He cupped Jared’s face between his palms to let their foreheads touch briefly before he pressed a warm kiss to the center of Jared’s brow and heard the soft sound the younger man— since Jensen no longer considered Jared a spirit right then— made from both the kiss and his words. “I love you, Jared. I love you and if I have to let you go, it will only be to that light and peace.”

Jared shivered as he leaned more into Jensen and gasped a little as the kiss slowly changed, deepened just a little. While he still didn’t know exactly how to respond he did slowly return the gesture until both men were so engrossed in the kiss, in the slow movement of Jensen’s fingers up Jared’s arm, that neither noticed the sky briefly darken only to quickly clear with a sudden squelch from one of the devices across the room.

“Jen?” he felt his cheeks heat from the kiss and because he was still adjusting to actually touching another man after so long of believing it was wrong.

“It’s good, Jay. That’s nothing.” Jensen suspected what it was and offered a silent flip off to the witch who was still trying to use old magic in hopes to further intimidate Jared. “It’s all going to be fine.”

It wasn’t an easy promise to keep but Jensen worked hard to make Jared relaxed and happy as he adjusted more to the modern time he was now in for however long he might be there.

Jensen explained what he could, demonstrated some things— like when he gave Jared his iPad to read up on history, or when he explained what else the laptop could do, or the various tools that were required to make some minor repairs when Jared’s attempts to fix Jensen coffee one morning resulted in a small fire.

Jared seemed to be a quick learner once he got over any initial fright of the modern devices as he’d been taught anything that made life too easy was the Devil’s work and should be avoided. He liked holding real books over the flat device Jensen let him use to read on, but understood that most of the books Jensen had brought with him were books for his work… except two of them that Jared discovered by accident one afternoon when he tripped over one that seemed to have moved on its own and into his path as he was pacing the kitchen while waiting for Jensen’s return from town with food.

Jensen had tried to coax Jared into his Jeep, just to test a theory, but the younger man had been terrified of the machine. A piece of Jensen suspected it was also Jared’s fear of not being able to leave the property line that had added to the panic attack.

Once he’d calmed Jared down and reassured him that he didn’t have to go close to the jeep until he felt safe, they walked to the edge of gravel driveway instead to see if Jared could take a step over the property line. Jared had been tense on the walk but Jensen had also heard the rustle in the trees bordering the driveway as well as the occasional growl that told him he’d have to make another call to one of Gen’s friends in Salem to get something to keep that damn red-eyed mutt out of the forest.

Jensen had held his breath as Jared went to take that final stop only to have to quickly catch him when the younger man cried out in pain and doubled over, body going hazy for just a moment until Jensen had him back a few feet to hold him.

“Shh, it’s okay, Jared. It’s fine. We didn’t think you could leave the property yet so you’re safe. I’m not angry. Now we know.” He’d spoken calmly until he felt Jared relaxing again and his upset sobs turned to little sniffles. A noise in the trees made Jensen stiffen, since the last thing he wanted was Jared confronted with that red-eyed dog, but this time he thought he’d caught site of grey and white fur… it was gone in a blink so Jensen shrugged it off and just took them back inside.

Jensen didn’t like leaving the property, leaving Jared alone even to run to the small market but knew they needed food and other things that couldn’t wait for the weekend when Chris was due back.

“Do not open this door to anyone. Do not go close to the windows and ignore any sounds you might hear,” he told Jared once he’d finally agreed to go and not call Elena to maybe have one of her grandchildren deliver supplies or food. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. He can’t hurt you and he can’t hurt me.”

Jared knew that, or knew that was what Jensen said, but a piece of him still had his doubts. Jared had pretended to be asleep the other night and overheard Jensen speaking to who he guessed had been the gruff speaking man who’d been there before.

“The asshole tried to turn the town against me! Or at least some of them, like the local Sheriff who decided to try to hassle me the other day while I was in town. No, he ran the tags on the Jeep and got a little snotty since I don’t look like someone behind the credentials I have.” Jensen had sighed. He didn’t seem too upset but the mild concern could still be heard so Jared knew not everything was as smooth as Jensen was trying to let on to him. “Elena came up right about then and yelled at him for being a patsy and listening to rumors started by Welling and things have calmed down some. Now people mostly just look at me like I’m crazy for living here… huh? Yes, I know, you still think I’m crazy for living here but this is where I belong and I’m not leaving.”

No one but Elena or a couple of her grandsons came out and when they did, Jared stayed in the attic since he didn’t want to make it hard on Jensen to explain his sudden presence. Once, someone from Salem came to help Jensen put up wards or something to help keep Welling, his power, and the evil dog off the property and that time Jensen had coaxed him downstairs to meet the man.

Chad, as Jared was told to call him, was around Jensen’s height with light blond hair and was as hyper as some chickens his mother used to have. He was friendly and made Jared smile and even laugh a couple times as he tried to explain certain things to Jensen on how to do stuff if he wasn’t here so Jensen ‘wouldn’t blow them to kingdom come’.

It had been Chad who also urged Jared to read more than just history and had helpfully found other things on the iPad for him to read and watch on times when Jensen was working outside and Jared didn’t feel safe following him into the barn or the old shed.

Jared had been too embarrassed to watch the videos his new helpful friend had loaded, but he had started to read more and when he tripped over the box of books that Jared almost knew his nosy father had pushed into his path while he paced nervously, waiting for Jensen’s return from town, he began to look through the box to find a selection of books not as scholarly as what Jensen’s other ones were.

He debated on grabbing a couple and sitting on the lumpy sofa that Jensen kept saying he was replacing but hadn’t yet, and then just picked one and started to read where he sat. His back was against the lumpy sofa, long legs out in front of him, and he had the intention of only reading a few pages of the small paperback he’d picked up. But, by the time he heard the sound of the front door opening, he had lost himself in the book.

“Do guys really do what it says in this book they do?” he asked without looking up as he was glued to a page he’d just read but was having trouble picturing the description in his mind. “What is docking and why would a guy put a ring on his… well… you know and… Jensen? Are you okay?”

This time Jared did look up and found Jensen’s eyes were locked on him in a mixture of shock, surprise and something that the young former Puritan could identify… but he was fairly certain he might’ve just read about that look in one of the books he’d found. Then he noticed that Jensen wasn’t alone and felt his face heat from embarrassment, wondering if he could still vanish because right then the living room was the last place Jared wanted to be as Jensen’s friend stepped in with another load of bags and stared between them.

“What in the hell are you letting him read, Jensen?” Chris Kane asked once he got his voice back after hearing Jared’s innocent questions. “Or better question, what the hell have _you_ been reading, Dr. Ackles?”

“Shut up, Chris. Go get the rest of the stuff out of the jeep,” Jensen muttered and swore he would not blush at the innocently asked questions as he quickly dropped the bags on the table to hurry to where Jared was trying to get to his feet but was in too big a hurry and kept stumbling. “Jay, hey… calm down a second. It’s okay. You’re fine.”

“I… I didn’t know he was… I tripped over this box and started reading and… I was curious since Chad showed me some moving pictures on your flat box and…” Jared’s words were rushed so he wasn’t remembering all the names for things while still trying to stand and get to the steps since this would only be his second meeting with Jensen’s friend and still wasn’t sure if the man cared for what Jensen was doing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you anything like that. Those were far too personal to ask or umm Jensen? I’ll go take this box upstairs and…”

Jensen wasn’t even certain how that small box of novels, his secret vice, got down from the bedroom since he’d personally carried it up. Right then he chose to ignore that mystery to catch Jared’s biceps to both help him up and to steady him. “I will always answer any questions you have about anything, Jared,” he assured the upset young man while moving his hands up to frame his face with a calm smile. “Also, you can do anything you want here. You can read anything, look at anything, eat anything… touch anything.”

“Touch you?” Jared heard the question pop out before he could stop it but before he could blush even more than he was he felt warm breath move over his cheek followed by soft lips.

“You can touch me whenever you want, Jay.” Jensen knew Jared had no experience save for what he read or… watched so he reminded himself to go slow. He also didn’t want to let things go to that level or else he’d never be able to let Jared go. “But… maybe not in the living room?”

“In this book, the two people had… sex in a car, on the table… in the bathroom.” Jared was amazed at some of the descriptions even if he knew he’d never have the courage to ask Jensen about some of those acts. “On the video…”

Jensen groaned and swore to see just what the hell had been loaded onto his iPad by the hyper witch out of Salem. Until then, he decided to distract Jared by glancing at the bags on the table. “I bought you some clothes and some snacks you liked. I also brought burgers for dinner since you seemed to enjoy them when I got them the other night.”

Jared had found very few foods he didn’t like or wouldn’t try, except for those potato chips. He found he really liked hamburgers and hot dogs and had been trying different toppings for those so he went to see what Jensen had bought as Chris carried in several more bags.

“Chris is just here for the weekend, Jay,” Jensen murmured against his ear as he’d seen Jared tense at his friend’s arrival and guessed it was because Jared still couldn’t adjust to being near other people or Chris’s gruffer voice and attitude reminded him of some of those who had hurt him. “I need help clearing out the barn and shed to both get rid of any trash and so I can look back in that stall to see if I might be able to find… well…”

“My grave,” Jared finished softly, eyes dropping to the floor while his fingers moved over the marks that Jensen noticed were still visible on his wrists as if Jared still showed the evidence of his captivity. “I… I didn’t see where he… they buried me since it took me time after I… died… t-to… come back as a spirit, but I know they wouldn’t have burned it or buried me in the cemetery so it would have to be either in there or maybe the shed,” his fingers suddenly grabbed onto Jensen’s hand to hold onto it tightly. “I-I can’t… go in the shed, Jen. Please don’t make me. I’ll… huh?”

“I will never make you do anything, Jared.” Jensen wasn’t sure why the old shed would frighten his friend but he wasn’t planning to take Jared into either structure until he had a better picture on just what was inside them. “You can stay inside and read while Chris and I clean out stuff. Besides, there’s no sense in both of us getting dirty given you and the shower still haven’t made friends.”

Jared rolled his eyes while giving an all too modern face of disgust at the mention of his latest attempt to master the shower apparatus and once again ended up soaked and almost flooding the bathroom. “I should just go jump in the lake like I used to when Mother said I was a muddy mess except… I don’t like the woods since I think that’s where the creature lives and my sisters were killed in that water, so it would seem disrespectful to bathe in it.”

The ways Jared thought about things, his care and worry for little things that others might never consider, touched Jensen and told him the kind of caring man Jared had been in life and would still be if he could ever be given a chance at life again.

“I’ll show you how to turn the shower on without it attacking you,” Jensen smiled while giving a slow kiss to Jared’s lips and heard the soft murmur of pleasure he knew Jared wasn’t yet aware that he gave when they kissed. “Now, let me get this stuff put away and after dinner, and after Chris crashes on the sofa, you and I can go upstairs so you can ask me sex questions that will make you blush and probably have me on the phone shouting at Chad for putting porn on my iPad.”

That was what they did, though Jensen wasn’t sure what gave Jared the most questions: the novels or the porn. He managed to answer whatever was asked as simply as he could and figured he’d only blushed a few more times than Jared had at a few things. Of course that was also the time Jensen had to get online to look up the whole docking question and then he had blushed.

By the time Chris had left Sunday evening, they’d cleaned out most of the heavy stuff from both structures with the help of some of Elena’s grandsons and a couple older men from town who had showed up with a huge dump truck to help haul the stuff away as nearly none of it was any good.

Now Jensen was working in the barn alone, though he knew Jared was just in the kitchen probably either pacing or looking out the window since it seemed the closer to that back stall Jensen got, the more on edge Jared got.

Chris had wanted him to wait until he got back with some building materials on Friday if he couldn’t manage an earlier trip but Jensen had a cold feeling in his belly that said he was running out of time in the search for this missing piece of the puzzle.

Welling hadn’t tried to come back onto the property but the heavier atmosphere around the property, the feeling of being watched from the trees, was returning and he feared the witch was finding a way through all the barriers, spells, and wards Chad had helped to put up as a temporary barrier.

Jensen had been told by a concerned Gen the other night that either he had to find Jared’s bones or redo the spells to buy more time, but if Welling decided to focus his evil on stopping Jensen that she was still worried for his safety.

“He’s not going to let me go, Jen.” Jared’s soft voice spoke from the darkness once night as he lay curled against Jensen’s side on the bed in the attic.

Jared chose to sleep in the attic because it felt safer and when the heaviness got too thick the attic didn’t seem to be affected.

The mattress had been replaced and Jensen moved a chair up there as well as his laptop so he could write on his notes or do research while Jared read or watched things on the iPad. They’d talk about Jared’s life before it had all gone wrong, Jensen shared details about his life and they both shared the dreams they’d had and that Jensen might still have since Jared accepted there was no reason to dream anymore.

Jensen started sleeping up in the attic when the nightmares began and Jared would wake up screaming for the pain to stop and for Welling to not touch him.

The psychologist in Jensen knew there was little he could do to stop the nightmares or remove all of the fears, but the man who loved and wanted to protect this big eyed boy just longed to shove a stake through Tom Welling’s bloodless heart and make him suffer. He also knew until he freed Jared’s bones from the cuffs that there might be some ways the witch could still hurt him and it looked like one of those might be through his dreams.

At first, Jared stayed on the other side of the bed but close enough that his fingers could touch Jensen as he laid with him because just Jensen’s presence calmed him. By the fourth night though, Jensen woke up to the feel of Jared curling against him, sniffling softly in his sleep as a long arm draped over his stomach.

That night Jensen had distracted Jared a little by kissing him a bit more while tracing his fingertip over the t-shirt that Jared insisted he wear to sleep in and heard Jared’s whisper soft voice murmuring that if he did still have dreams that it would be to spend every night of the rest of his life with Jensen. He also once again begged Jensen to not be hurt over him as he couldn’t bear that guilt on top of the other guilt he still felt and that Welling would never let him go.

Once Jared had dropped off to sleep, Jensen stayed awake briefly to think and knew this wasn’t the first time his new friend had thought of either of these matters and in the case of the one feared he might have heard more in his nightmares than Jared was sharing yet.

“He won’t have a choice, sweetheart,” Jensen replied and decided he would make sure of that. He hated the shadows and fears that he once again could see in Jared’s eyes whenever he looked toward the barn or if Gen mentioned her concern for Jensen’s safety. “He can’t hold you once we break the curse. As soon as you’re free to cross then that might even destroy his power and send him to Hell.”

Of course, Jensen decided to try to keep Jared from worrying about the damage the witch could cause before that or after, and was glad Chad had come up from Salem with new things to try. He also gave Jared someone to talk to while Jensen was out in the barn.

The barn had been cleared of nearly everything except for what might be useful and some new bales of hay that an old man, who was probably 90 years old, decided Jensen needed because every barn needed some hay. The area in the rear still made the hair on the back of his neck and arms stand up but after a lot of sweaty work, he finally took his first step into the small stall. The moment he did it was as if someone sucker punched him in the gut because Jensen had to step back out to regain his breath.

It startled Jensen when he was finally able to step inside to take a good look around; it looked like it must have when Jared had been held here, as if nothing had been changed or no one had ever been in here before him.

He felt the oppressive energy again but shrugged it off to brush at some old straw and dirt on the floor in the back only to frown. Jensen knelt down to use his hands to begin brushing at what he’d felt with his foot and discovered a small mound of dirt that had been covered.

Jensen swallowed the sudden lump in his throat as a cold chill blew through the barn. He had been hoping he wouldn’t find this here. He’d actually been hoping the damn asshole or the so-called Pastor had at least buried Jared’s body somewhere else, but as he cleaned off the spot he saw the mound of dirt looked to barely be six feet by three feet; Jensen knew in his gut he’d found a very hastily dug and probably hastily covered grave.

“Son of a bitch,” he whispered tightly and glanced around to see a set of short old rusted chains still on a back section of wall as well as something in the floor. One piece of floor that was stone looked like it had once held a hook or something and the longer he looked, the madder Jensen got.

He’d known from his dreams and what little Jared had shared this past week that Jared had been kept chained like an animal in this barn when not used in other ways, so Jensen suspected what the chains and hook must have been used for. A glance back to what must have been the door to the stall showed him what looked like scratches and Jensen felt nauseous as he could almost see a scared, battered, sick Jared scratching or even beating on that door until he lost all hope of escape or rescue.

“It broke my heart to hear him scream as that evil boy hurt him or to hear him try to escape this place only to slowly lose bits of himself with each new wound or foul name used or deed done.”

“I know this time I’m not sleeping.” Jensen looked up to see the spirit of Sarah Padalecki standing just outside the main barn door, recalling that she’d told him that she couldn’t enter the barn or shed. “His bones are here, aren’t they?” he asked quietly. “He died here and to cover up the acts that happened to Jared he was just probably put in a shallow hole that was quick to be dug.”

“The hands who worked here for Pastor Welling feared him as well as his son, so while they knew what was being done to my son, while they knew how Jared died and how he was left to rot in some hole not even fit for an animal, they said nothing.” Sarah glanced toward the house and then back to Jensen. “You love him.”

Jensen hadn’t been expecting a proper burial but he had been hoping for more than the spirit described as he pushed to his feet to reach for a shovel. “Yes, I do,” he admitted and began to dig. “I told him that I hadn’t let myself love someone because I was waiting for the right man. I love Jared, but I know to free him from this hell, to let his spirit find peace, that I have to let him go to the light when it’s time.”

“Can you let my son go without causing yourself pain, Jensen?” Sarah asked while watching this young man as he shed his button down shirt to make digging easier. She saw him falter and knew even as he looked back at her calmly that his heart was breaking inside.

“Jared deserves peace and to be free to be with his family. I love him and he says he loves me, but I know given the beliefs he probably still has that Jared might not understand what that means fully.” Jensen had to ignore the pain even the thought of letting go would bring as he tried to focus on the main goal he now had: freeing Jared. “It’ll hurt and I might never find someone else to love since something inside tells me he’s the one for me, but I will see him free of this place and out of harm’s way. I will… oh my God.”

He’d been digging only a short while, moving dirt to a pile on the other side of the small former-prison like stall when suddenly the shovel hit something that wasn’t dirt but it also wasn’t wood. Jensen’s stomach clenched as he swore he heard a howl from off in the distant woods.

Quickly kneeling down, he noticed the spirit had vanished as easily as she’d appeared and he was now alone in the barn. Jensen used his hands to move more dirt away from where the shovel had hit the object; fearing what he might uncover but making himself dig until slowly the dirt moved away and he fell back with a choked sound of dismay and anger.

The grave was barely three feet deep and as he pulled handfuls of dirt out, ignoring the worms and other things the psychologist in him knew it was stupid to cringe away from, Jensen stopped when his shaking, dirt covered fingers touched something that he knew was not bone.

Looking into the now uncovered shallow grave and then thinking about the handsome young man inside the house made Jensen shudder at the thought of what Jared had endured in life as well as to what it looked like his body had suffered by the way his bones were crumpled in the hole.

The cuffs on the ankles, wrists, and throat of the skeleton gave Jensen cold icy feelings as he knew these were what had been etched upon to keep the boy prisoner in life and in death. He longed to take them off and find a way to destroy them, but understood he had to wait since both Chad and Gen had told him there had to be a spell said as he removed and destroyed the cuffs.

Jensen had been standing up to find something to cover the hole with until he could discuss the next step with Chad as well as Jared when something in the grave caught his eye and the fury returned. He’d noticed the rib section on the left side of the skeleton looked caved in as if Jared had suffered severe broken ribs either before or after his death, but what truly sickened Jensen was when he noticed the way the long legs had been bent back at an unnatural angle and knew that Welling had broken the boy’s legs. He desperately prayed to himself that it had been after Jared had passed beyond and hadn’t felt the pain.

He had just covered the grave with a piece of plywood when he felt that he was no longer alone. Turning slowly, Jensen expected Jared to be there since it was about time for dinner but what he saw standing not six feet from him in the main door of the barn was a large greyish, almost white colored wolf.

The animal stared at him with tawny colored eyes before looking past him and then back. It took a step closer to let out a low, mournful howl that inside the closed confines of the barn actually hurt Jensen’s ears. He’d been trying to reach for the shovel to use as some sort of weapon in case it lunged for him but when he’d quickly moved his eyes to see where he’d put the damn thing and looked back, he was startled to see the barn empty with no sign of the animal.

“Huh. Okay, that was… odd.” Jensen didn’t think he’d imagined it since he wasn’t prone to imagine big scary looking creatures that could probably eat him, but after looking around to be sure it wasn’t hiding anywhere he stepped out of the barn just in time to see Jared coming out of the house. He was just forcing a smile as a bright dimpled smile was aimed his way. “Please let me have the strength to do what I need to for him,” he whispered and stepped away to catch Jared’s hand in his. “Let’s make dinner… and then we should talk.”

Jared had just been coming out to see if Jensen wanted to come in when he spotted him coming out of the barn. He’d noticed he’d lost his button down shirt and looked covered in dirt and sweat, but something else about the tightness around usually calm and light green eyes told the young man that his friend must have found something. Hearing him say that they needed to talk told him what that something must have been and he went still.

“Do… do I have to leave you now, Jen?” he asked softly while trying not to show how much that scared him. “Can we… can we maybe have a few more days or…”

“Yes.” Jensen didn’t hesitate in that answer because he would keep Jared safe from Welling, he would keep those bones safe until Chad could tell him for sure if breaking the curse or freeing Jared’s bones from the cursed bonds would allow him to cross in peace.

He put aside the worry about the mystery animal to let Jared step into his arms and just held him in the middle of the yard near the old well. “I promise that I won’t let you go until I’m sure it’ll be into the light to be with your family,” he murmured, brushing his lips along Jared’s face and missed the flash of white from inside the tree line as what was there watched the couple before vanishing into the dark woods.

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't been adding warnings per chapter but given I cried writing this one I will place a possible tissue warning on this one. This is also will I remind you guys that all my J2 have happy endings so don't freak out. All will work out somehow, someway.

**Breaking Free**

**Chapter Nine**

** 12 Days Later: **

Jensen Ackles stood near the old well in front of his house, staring between it and a path in the woods; a path that he longed to take if only to have one more moment with someone who had come to mean more to him than not only his happiness or his career but also his own life.

It hadn’t been as easy to move forward with freeing Jared from the curse as Jensen had originally thought but then the professional side of him should have known that as nothing ever came easy in some cases. Not that it meant he’d been very happy when Chad Michael Murray had dropped that news on him several days after uncovering the shallow grave inside the barn.

** Earlier: **

“What the hell do you mean destroying the cuffs will only solve half of his problem?”

Jensen Ackles felt like slapping the grim faced witch from Salem in his head, but he didn’t want to risk being turned into anything.

It had been well over a week since discovering Jared’s bones in the shallow hole in the barn, and because he didn’t want to rush into anything that might not work or might make things worse, Jensen had been patient as Chad went back to Salem to check into things, talk to some people with more experience and who could give him advice on not only breaking the curse but freeing Jared’s spirit.

In that time, Jensen had struggled to ignore the pull to deepen his growing friendship with the still often confused young Puritan. He wanted to explain to Jared about everything he might need to know about this modern world, as well as what being gay meant and that it was fine for him to feel things, to express them now. Jensen wanted to do more than kiss Jared or show him how to touch casually once he saw that the young man was a fast learner and very eager to learn about anything new.

Jensen wanted to explain that some of what Jared was seeing on the laptop or reading about wasn’t exactly true but knew if he did, then he’d want to show the young man how to make love. He knew that was the one thing he could not do because Jensen knew if they made love, there’d be no way he could let Jared cross.

So he showed Jared how to kiss, how to touch and laughed trying to answer any questions the innocent boy had about a few things that made Jensen vow to break Chad for letting him see the more hardcore types of porn that were online.

They slept together in Jensen’s bed usually, unless the dark, evil feelings were lurking, as if Welling was trying to find a way around Chad’s spells and wards to try to frighten Jared. Then, they slept in the attic where the atmosphere couldn’t touch and the only issue was a somewhat snooping ghost.

It was hard to explain to Jared why he wouldn’t take things any farther and why at times, Jensen was more on edge. It was plain to see that Jared was scared about crossing into the light, even if it was possible, and had begged Jensen to let him stay with him.

“Jay, I would in a heartbeat if that’s what you really wanted,” Jensen said as they laid in bed the night after discovering the bones. He’d run his fingers back through soft, dark hair and down Jared’s cheek to feel his tears; that hurt Jensen because the last thing he wanted was to made Jared sad or believe he didn’t want him. “I love you, even though people might say we just met. I love you and would love to show you how to start your life fresh with me but… I’m not sure if we can do that and keep you safe from him.”

That was Jensen’s biggest fear in all of this, not being able to protect Jared from Welling’s power even if they broke the curse.

The young man’s nightmares were coming back stronger every night since the discovery of his grave and a piece of Jensen feared that while they could bar the witch from the property, keep him from hurting Jared physically, it might still be possible that he could use his own dreams to still haunt and hurt him.

Gen had given Jensen instruction over the phone on how to make a hex bag for Jared to wear or carry on him that would help keep his dreams safe, while Chad worked to find the correct spell to destroy the etched cuffs. She’d also advised that Jensen’s love for Jared would also work as a buffer if he stopped letting his own fears about the ultimate outcome rule his every choice.

The small bag did seem to help Jared sleep, but what it looked like helped the most was when he curled against Jensen’s chest to sleep with his head nestled between his neck and shoulder, fingers meshed with Jensen’s own and warm lips touching his hair. It was on those nights that Jared slept through the night and woke up without shadows or fears… until he was once again reminded that with each passing day, the time was nearing for him to face leaving Jensen, leaving this place and finally finding the light that would take him to his family.

Chris Kane was due to come back but had been delayed by an emergency job his father needed his help with. Jensen had put any repairs to the house on hold and focused on spending that time with Jared, either sitting on the sofa watching TV or in the attic going through books or his laptop.

Jensen had also been trying to make arrangements with the local cemetery to allow for the burial of Jared’s actual skeleton, but Welling’s influence with those in charge of the cemetery, made it impossible to even get someone to consider it.

It had been Elena Porter who had come to the rescue when she revealed that Jared’s father hadn’t been buried in the local Church cemetery but back in the woods in what had originally been planned to be a family plot. Since Jensen owned the property, he could quietly inter the bones without going through the town or the Church.

It had been the older woman who had taken him down an overgrown path of trees and brush in the woods to a small offshoot trail that led to the lake, where several stones could be seen also covered over with vegetation after years of no one caring for it.

“Helena, when she was old enough, placed headstones for her parents and sisters even though only her father’s body was actually buried. There’s one for Jared as well,” she watched Jensen’s face as he moved some overgrown weeds away from a smooth stone with Jared’s name and date of birth barely legible, but no date of death. “No one was certain of the exact date. You… can add one.”

Something about seeing a headstone with Jared’s name reminded him once again that his friend had been trapped in this time, on this land, long enough and he deserved to find peace, even if giving him that hurt both of them.

Jensen began to clean the path to the small family cemetery by himself since Jared was still uneasy with the woods. Two of Elena’s grandsons came to help him so it was accomplished quickly which pleased Jensen since every time he was there, he felt like he was being watched. But, he almost _knew_ it wasn’t the red eyed dog or Welling, but something else.

When he got out of the shower that evening, he found that Chad had returned sometime and just one look at the usually jovial young man’s face told Jensen that whatever news he had wasn’t good.

“What the hell do you mean destroying the cuffs will only solve half of his problem?” Jensen demanded upon hearing what Chad had learned after much research and discussions with other witches back in Salem. “I thought destroying them broke the curse! I thought breaking the curse would free him from this place and that _asshole_! What the…”

“Dude! Would you settle down, take a breath, and sit down before you pace a hole in the damn floor?” Chad had known what the psychologist’s reaction to his news would be, so he wasn’t surprised. It was the way Jared had tensed and eased over into the corner of the lumpy sofa, as if afraid of Jensen’s temper, that had him trying to interject some calm into what he knew was not a calm situation. “I didn’t say it was all bad news. I just said that removing, working a spell, and destroying those cuffs wasn’t the end all solution we might have been hoping it was. When you’re calm and stop scaring the kid here, I’ll tell you how we can set his spirit free… if you’re both certain that’s what you want..?”

Jensen had been calling Chad a few uncomplimentary names under his breath when he suddenly turned to see Jared watching him with wide but frightened eyes, and then began cursing his own stupidity. Of course Jared would be nervous around anyone with a temper or who got angry near him given what he’d probably been forced to endure at the hands of the Welling family and the damn asshole in general.

“Jay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at Chad or upset you,” he moved to sit on the sofa but waited to reach out until he saw Jared slowly ease a hand toward him after seeing that Jensen was calm or not going to lash out at him. “I also didn’t mean for you to think I’m in a hurry to have you cross over with your folks. I… I just hate the thought of him getting past that hex bag and hurting you in your dreams or if he finds a way to get onto the property.”

Jared was scared of those things as well, but he was actually more scared of what Welling might do to Jensen if he was able to come onto the land again. He knew things had happened in town that Jensen had tried to keep hidden, had seen Jensen’s arm the day Jensen came home with a bruise where the man had grabbed him while in the grocery store in a last attempt to ‘persuade’ Jensen to sell the land to him and give up the useless dream of freeing what he still thought of as his slave.

“Wh-what… what does destroying the cuffs do?” he asked softly after he eased closer to Jensen so he could lean against the shoulder that was always available to him.

“It breaks the curse binding you to Welling and this land,” Chad responded. He heard a soft inhale but he kept his eyes on Jensen as he went on. “The moment that curse is broken he’ll be free of it, but if that guy is as obsessed with him as you say he seems to be, it won’t even help to do what you’re probably thinking of trying, Jensen. Running won’t save Jared from Welling. Only ending his hold on this plane of existence will do that and… I’m not sure if there’s any other way to do that other than to send Jared into the light.”

Jensen frowned at that news. He had been briefly considering taking Jared away from Porterville if the curse could be broken. He’d hoped if the curse was lifted, if Jared left the place, then Welling would go away or move on to harassing someone else.

Though as soon as he’d first considered that plan Jensen had nixed it, because as much as he loved Jared, as much as he wanted to be with him, he also knew he couldn’t risk the bastard claiming another young innocent victim as his next toy.

“No, he’ll hurt someone else if he doesn’t go away.” Jared spoke up with the exact words Jensen knew were true but still hated to admit. “I don’t want Jensen hurt because he’s helping me, and I don’t want anyone else in town or somewhere else to be hurt or used like he… like he hurt and used me,” he glanced over at Jensen with sadness shining in his wet hazel eyes. “I love you, Jen. I understand I still don’t know everything about myself or loving you, and I wish we had the time for you to show me… but I also think I know why you won’t. I know you don’t want it to be harder to let go and if I could stay with you I would, but… I can’t let him hurt you or hurt someone else like me. I…”

“I know, Jay, I know,” Jensen murmured and he _did_ know that. It shamed him a little that Jared understood all of this and had the courage to voice it while he’d still been trying to find a loophole. “I said I’d help you be with your family, to be at peace, and I will. How can we do that?” he asked Chad while slipping an arm around Jared and felt him shaking even as he tried to pretend to be brave.

Chad coughed and ran a nervous hand over the back of his neck. He’d suspected the way to free Jared’s spirit but had gotten a couple more opinions from other witches, just in case, from those who didn’t think he was crazy. He knew the answer. He just wasn’t sure how Jensen would take it when he told him. “His bones have to be burned,” he saw both men stare at him and rushed to continue. “Burning the bones in addition to the spell I have, will cleanse them, remove any leftover marks Welling might have put on him, and give his spirit the nudge it needs to find the light.”

Jensen had read enough books, watched enough shows on the paranormal, to have guessed that was probably the way to do it. He wasn’t happy to think of having to burn the bones, but understood that it might be the only way to help Jared and to prevent Welling from digging them back up if he couldn’t banish him as well.

“Okay, so… when do we do this?” he asked tightly. “How do we do this?”

Chad knew this wasn’t an easy decision for either Jensen or Jared. He’d seen the feelings the men shared, and knew losing Jared was going to hurt the psychologist a lot more than he was saying. Chad was still looking into ways to try to loophole their way around this, but he couldn’t see any other way and he hated that.

“I need at least a day to prepare the spells and you’ll probably want to have a decent coffin for the bones or ashes to rest in once this is over.” He also guessed Jensen would want at least a day to say goodbye… if that was even possible.

Jensen swore something hit him in the chest like a fist. It took him several moments to be able to get his breath and to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat as this was all suddenly becoming way too real to him.

He managed to nod but where he wanted to say something reassuring to Jared, or try to say something to lighten the heavy mood all of a sudden, all Jensen could do was stand up and head upstairs to the room with his equipment.

Originally, Jensen had come here to Massachusetts to start over, to either find proof of ghosts and curses or debunk the legend around this land as myth and old stories. Now that he’d not only proven that ghosts might actually exist, now that he’d met Jared and learned the truth of the horror of his life, he found that he no longer cared about proving it to the world or writing a new paper stating his facts. He didn’t want to share these findings because he didn’t want to share what had become very close to his heart.

He also didn’t want to let go and that was the crux of his building emotions. From the moment he’d first looked into Jared’s eyes the professional psychologist in him, the side that had numerous degrees and could move on to be anything he wanted in those fields, knew he’d have to let go. In order to give Jared peace, to let him have what everybody deserved in death, he would have to let go. Jensen had known that… then.

Now, as he was faced with breaking the curse and then freeing the spirit, the man inside the professional found it felt like something inside him was breaking into a million pieces.

He was just to the point of slashing his arm across the table to take all the high-tech equipment crashing to the floor in a fit of anguish when he heard the sound behind him a second before the door closed.

“Do… do you regret coming here now?” Jared had been upset, confused when Jensen fled the living room so quickly, but had stayed to listen to Chad explain that he thought he had caused the reaction. “It’s… not too late for me to… go back to…”

“No.” Jensen turned on his heel at that, reaching out to catch Jared’s hands in his, and could feel how cold they were again and feared his reactions might cause Jared to return to his spirit state. “I do not regret coming to Porterville. I do not regret meeting you or saying I love you,” he reassured the young man while looking up into sad eyes with a small smile, trying to find a way to explain his emotions.

“I’ve always held my emotions inside because I never had a real reason to express them since my grandparents all passed away. My parents aren’t big on expressing actual emotions, Jared. To them, all they care about is how they look to their society friends.” He slipped a hand up to gently touch Jared’s face and smiled more when he felt him turn his cheek into the touch. “In school, people said I was cold and aloof because I wasn’t outgoing or as expressive as most of them were, but I never had the kind of life where I made friends easily so I never learned how to be open with others.

“Chris and Gen are about the only ones I really felt easy with, able to be a little more myself because Chris didn’t give a damn how much money I or my folks have, or how smart I am, and Gen’s just laidback like that. I opened my heart once to help someone I thought needed it and in turn, had my heart and my trust smashed when I learned the man I thought needed help really didn’t.” Jensen was cautious about who he opened up to about his life but he wanted Jared to understand why he usually didn’t and why he was having a hard time closing them back off now that he had. “I always knew when I met the man in my dreams that he was who I’d spend forever with. I knew when we met, when it became clear I could help you, that it would hurt to let you go but I guess I was too stupid to not realize how damn much.

“I’m not regretting anything but my own damn inability to let go.” He forced a bigger smile to assure Jared that it would be okay so the younger man wouldn’t feel any worse or more scared than he might be already. “Breaking the curse will free you from fearing Welling or his spells and the other will let you go to be with your family. That’s what you deserve after so many years of being trapped here, and I’ll make sure you have that peace no matter how much it might hurt to say goodbye.”

Jared blinked the tears out of his eyes while stepping closer to feel Jensen’s arms fold around him. “I want to stay with you but…” he shook his head and tried to find the right words to express the mass of emotions inside him right then. “I don’t want you to hurt, Jen. I wish we had met when I was real or that I could come back as a real man to love you like I do now, but I know those are just silly dreams.”

“No dream is silly, sweetheart,” Jensen murmured as he kissed Jared’s face softly. “I’m still too much of a cynic to believe in all of the images they say Heaven is, but for you I will dream of those pearly gates and peaceful lands beyond them where you can have the peace you’ve deserved. I will dream of your smile, your eyes, and your laugh every night when I sleep, and when I’m awake doing whatever it is I end up doing, I will remember every moment of the brief time we’ve had together in this house. You will always be who I see in my dreams, Jared. Now… let me hold you tonight?”

Jared nodded and eagerly went fully into Jensen’s arms to be kissed deeply. He wished for more; despite not fully understanding everything in this modern time, he did understand the reasons Jensen was holding back from going any further than kissing.

They ended up in Jensen’s bed that night and just explored each other over their clothes with light touches, slow kisses. Jared blushed and tried to move away when he felt the way his body responded to each touch now, only to find his back flat on the bed with Jensen leaning over him with a soft smile.

“It’s natural for you to react this way, Jay. It’s your body’s way of responding to me.” He kissed Jared’s lips slowly as he’d been doing, but this time heard a soft sigh and felt them part shyly as if Jared was giving silent permission for him to deepen the kiss.

Jensen hesitated briefly before letting the tip of his tongue slip past those soft lips to just lightly touch Jared’s tongue. He felt him tense, then gasp as if surprised that nothing more was happening and was once again reminded that Jared’s knowledge of anything physical was limited, pure except for things Jensen longed to remove from his memory.

“If I thought I could make myself let you go if we made love, I would show you how you should be touched and loved,” he whispered into the kiss but didn’t go much farther than that before moving back to his side, taking a warm and cuddly Jared with him to spend the rest of the night wrapped in one another’s arms.

The next day Jensen woke up early to slip downstairs to see a grim faced Chad already hard at work in the kitchen. He went outside to call Elena and ask her for her help in gathering what else would be needed.

He prepared a breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast and something that made Chad’s eyebrows raise as he looked and Jensen merely shrugged. “Jay tasted hotdogs one day and decided he liked them, so one morning he had me cook him one and he wrapped it in a pancake with some of Elena’s Elderberry jam. It’s his last breakfast with me so I figured I’d make him his favorite stuff.”

Chad heard the slight break that Jensen was quick to cover. “You really love him,” he said, even though a blind man would’ve been able to see the love shared by these two.

He’d talked to Gen more than once about her friend and she’d given him a brief look into Dr. Jensen Ackles life, both personally and professionally. Chad was often hyper, energetic, and a little too outgoing at times, but he was also a swift and good judge of character; the moment he’d met Jensen and then the young man— _spirit_ — he was trying to save, rang his inner bells that told him that while sending Jared across the veil into the light would reunite him with his family, while it might even defeat the ancient witch who’d been hanging on too long, it would also have an adverse effect on Jensen as well.

“Can you really let him go, Jensen?” he asked, concerned. “I mean, I know I said the witch couldn’t be defeated so long as his obsession was still around but… dude, if we do this and something happens to you because of losing Jared, I will have Gen in my face 24 hours later. She might be little but she can kick my butt when she’s pissed.”

“I’m a professional psychologist. I know the dangers of emotional wounds and how losing him could hurt but…” Jensen paused as he shut the stove off once the food was done. “It’s funny in a not so funny way. When I first came here, my friend Chris said I should be the first psychologist to have his own head examined for buying this place. Now I think I might have to actually follow that advice because I’m not arrogant enough to not know I’m already falling into a very dark place in my mind at even the thought of saying goodbye to him.

“If I thought freeing him from the curse, taking him to California or Europe or someplace not here would work, I’d be booking flights. But I know he’ll never be free of Welling and I know Jared’s too honorable to risk someone else being hurt. No matter how much it hurts I… I have to let go.” He heard a shout, a bang and had to smile because that told him that Jared was still trying to use the shower attachment on the tub even though it never failed to get both him and the bathroom soaking wet. “Elena says the… casket should be delivered this afternoon. Tell me how this works now.”

Chad was having his own difficulties picturing the scene he’d be working with later since he’d grown fond of Jared and liked the sweet faced kid who could go from watching Barney videos to porn without batting too much of an eye… depending on the porn Chad set him up to watch.

“We should transfer the bones from the grave to the casket here. You or I will remove the chains and cuffs then and I’ll do the spell to break the curse on them which will free Jared,” he began while taking a piece of bacon; he watched as Jensen prepared a huge plate of food but got the hunch it was for Jared when the man barely put any on his own. “Jensen, the moment I do that spell is when the danger kicks in for everyone in this property,” he warned seriously and then tried to explain. “The moment that curse breaks, Welling will know it. He will be pissed and he will more than likely head here to try to stop anything else from happening or to try to rework a spell to bind Jared to him more. I’ll only have a short time to do the rest of it and… burn his bones.”

“I thought the property was protected from him.” Jensen wasn’t hungry but did put some food on his plate so Jared wouldn’t balk at eating.

“It is, but I can’t promise he won’t use all the power he’s got in this time to make a hole in my spells.” Chad replied, biting his lip as he considered this next part. “I can do the spell to break the curse at the burial site and then do the other spell before burning the bones but… someone needs to make sure if the dick shows up he can’t get into the woods.”

Jensen had just put a fork of eggs to his lips when he laid it back down to stare into grim eyes. “Someone like me.” He had picked up on that silent suggestion just by the way Chad looked at him and saw the reasoning. “Welling hates me so of course he’ll be focused on me if I’m between him and Jared. I’m not sure if I can keep him blocked since he still has magic and I have nothing but…”

“You have a lot more than you’re giving yourself credit for, dude.” Chad would also make sure to leave behind some items that would help buy Jensen the time to keep the witch from stopping the ritual in the woods. “Just don’t let him get close enough to touch you because one mark, or one serious wound, will be sending you to those fluffy white clouds in the sky too and that is not what we… Jensen…”

Jensen refused to say that he might not really give a damn if he got killed so long as Jared was able to be with his family, but since he didn’t want Chad to freak out or possibly tell Jared about that opinion, he kept his mouth shut.

“Yeah, I’ll keep the asshole away from you and Jared if he shows up. Just… just make sure your spell works and make sure he knows I love him.”

“I’ll always know that, Jen.” Jared spoke from the base of the steps where he’d just stepped down in time to hear the last few comments and was smart enough to piece together what he thought was going on. “I… I don’t know what will happen if… when I cross or if I’ll go to Heaven or Hell, but so long as I can think, I’ll always think of you and know that if it hadn’t been for you, that he’d still be able to hurt me. I… I love you too.”

Chad suddenly decided to take his laptop and books outside for a moment to make sure he had everything he’d need and so he could give them privacy; he also didn’t want either man to see how his own eyes had welled up at just the emotions he could feel in the room.

Jensen stood up but stayed where he was, letting Jared come to the table and see the food that was prepared. He watched a hint of a dimple show as the young man took in the hotdogs and pancakes, as well as the other foods he’d come to like. “I wanted you to have a good breakfast. I wish I’d been able to take you out to a real restaurant for a decent dinner since while I can cook breakfast, as you’ve probably noticed I’m not so good with other meals.”

“I liked what you cooked.” Jared noticed Jensen’s plate was barely touched but decided not to comment on it. “I won’t see you before I cross. That’s what Chad was saying, right?”

“I have to stay here to make sure Welling, if he comes to try to stop the rituals, can’t get to the woods where your family plot is so… as much as I want to be with you for that moment, no, you won’t see me.” Jensen hated it but knew keeping Welling away was more important.

Jared sat down and seemed to focus on eating a few bites of breakfast, noticing it didn’t have the same flavors or enjoyment as usual and guessed why. “It… it might be better that you aren’t there,” he murmured, refusing to look up when he felt Jensen’s fingers reach across the table to squeeze his wrist. “It’ll hurt you to see my bones burn or to see me… well… I’m not sure how that will work. Do you think it’ll hurt, Jensen?” he hadn’t wanted to ask, but the fear of more pain was still huge inside him.

“I…” Jensen hadn’t thought to ask Chad that question. He didn’t want to think that it would since the whole purpose of doing either ritual was to help Jared, not cause him pain. “We’ll ask Chad but it… shouldn’t. I don’t want you to hurt, Jay.”

“I guess a little pain still won’t be as bad as what I’ve felt when I was alive or since then a few times.” Jared wrapped another hotdog in a pancake after smearing it with jam; only this time he cut it into more pieces and held one out to Jensen. “You’ll… be okay right?” he asked as Jensen took the offered bite. “I mean, against him. You won’t let him hurt you or worse just to keep him away from the woods, will you?”

Jensen managed to swallow the bite of strangely mixed food past the lump in his throat to nod, forcing a smile years of dealing with his parents and people back in California had taught him to have. He refused to make Jared more worried than he already was. “Chad said he’d give me some stuff to use and I still have modern science on my side. If I don’t believe, he can’t hurt me.”

That wasn’t true and Jensen knew it, but he was hoping Jared wouldn’t realize that little lie yet. He moved his chair closer so they could share a quiet breakfast and found that he ate more than he planned on, unable to refuse the small bites of various food that Jared shared with him because Jensen adored the little happy smile it brought out on Jared to see him eating when they both knew he hadn’t wanted to.

Jensen cleaned the kitchen, noticing Jared had taken the old journal and seemed to be writing in it. He wouldn’t ask what as he felt it was probably private or meant for others in Elena’s family who would come after. If he told Jensen he could look later, then he would, but either way the psychologist would make sure Jared’s story was told one way or another. He might lose a piece of his heart this day but he would make certain Jared was never forgotten again.

“Jensen?” Chad had stuck his head in the door to nod out to where a pick-up truck could be seen pulling up. “I think this is Miss Porter’s grandsons with the… well… you know… for Jared’s… umm… you know.”

“Yeah, okay. Help them unload it and I’ll be out in a minute or two.” Jensen still wished he could just hide them away but as Jared stood up to face him, he knew the younger man understood the ramble of words. “I want you to wait in here until Chad and I get the bones placed in the casket. You don’t need to see your own bones, much less have to go into that barn. And I will have Chris raze it as soon as he comes back,” he told him even as he swore he felt an odd chill move past him.

“Why do you have to see them then?” Jared didn’t want to be inside the house alone right then. He didn’t feel the same evil as he used to, but he felt sad about what was happening. He’d also felt his father’s spirit as it moved past Jensen to exit the home and suspected the reason. “Jen, I want to be with you for as long as I can be. Please?”

Jensen hesitated before finally nodding and held out a hand that was immediately taken and tightly held as they stepped outside to watch as a very nicely built, highly polished casket being moved out of the pick-up truck. Elena Porter directed her grandsons and Chad to be careful and not drop it now or later on while scolding the same old man who had brought Jensen the hay to not forget the words he was saying when it was time.

The sky was a bright blue with fluffy white clouds floating above. Jensen hoped it stayed that way once this started but he suspected it wouldn’t. He brought Jared’s hand up to press a soft kiss to the back of it before leaving him with Elena right at the door to the barn as he went inside to move the plywood.

“Let’s do this,” he said in a voice that was deeper, huskier than normal, but it was all he could do to fight back too much emotion as he saw Chad nod.

Jensen started to ease into the shallow grave only to be stopped by the little old man. “You wait by him. Something like this needs done in a certain way, and 40 years as a mortician and 60 as a preacher taught me how to get these bones out and into that casket in a proper way,” he told him with a lot stronger voice than he’d spoken with when he’d delivered the bales of hay.

Hesitating a moment, Jensen finally agreed and went back to where Jared was leaning against the door with his head down and Elena rubbing his arm while speaking softly to him.

“Your family will wait for you always and they will be there to greet you without shame or judgement, child,” the older woman was saying as Jensen stepped up and immediately had Jared in his arms. “He won’t be alone for this decision, Jensen. You did what you came here to do. You’ve helped to free him now it’s Jared’s turn to make his own hard choices and say goodbye.”

“It isn’t right that he has to hurt more because to free him he had to fall in love with me when he never would be able to know the joys that love can bring him, Elena.” Jensen knew the love between them had to be there in order to help to start breaking the curse, but the man cursed his own blind stupidity for not seeing ahead of time how much that would hurt not only him but also an already confused boy.

Elena’s hazel eyes, much like Jared’s in color, were calm and gentle as she gave him an understanding smile while patting his arm before stepping away. “Just don’t give up that love or your faith in him. You’ll need that strength soon, I fear.”

The enigmatic comments had Jensen frowning but then he made himself focus on the time he had left with Jared. From the corner of his eye he thought he caught a glimpse of white from the woods but left that alone as he hadn’t seen that white dog since that day in the barn, even though he had heard a howl that was different than the beast’s cry.

“Okay, so I know we won’t have time to say everything I might want to, and I won’t confuse you more or make you sadder than you will be or more scared, so I want you to know I love you, I’m proud of you for having the courage to face everything you have since this becoming solid, and I will never forget you.” He held Jared another moment before easing him back a little so he could wipe away the tears on his cheeks with a forced smile. “I will rebuild this house to how it was when you lived here with your family and I will visit you at least once a week, if not every day.

“I will make my new life here like I planned once I get over the hurt of not being able to help you more than this. Now I want you to go with Chad and Elena. They’ll help you with this last part.” Jensen brought Jared back closer to share one final kiss, hearing the soft sob but not sure if it came from him or the boy clinging to him.

Jensen wanted to let him hold onto him but knew he had to let go. He did so, but not before slipping something from his pocket into Jared’s hand. “I know this won’t go with you into the light, but Elena will know to place it in the casket. It’s just something I want you to have of me. My Princeton ring isn’t as gawdy as the one from Berkeley... Now go, before I change my mind and try to take you and run as far as we can from this place.”

Jared stared at the ring in his hand. He didn’t understand its significance but felt it was important for him to take it. “I… I don’t have anything to give you,” he said quietly while his eyes went to the now closed casket as it was carried out of the barn. “What will you remember me by?”

“Sweetheart, I have everything I need to remember you right here where you will always be for me.” Jensen placed his hand over his heart, not bothering to hide the tears now, while placing a softer kiss on both sides of Jared’s lips and then to the center of his forehead. “I will love you for however long I live Jared Padalecki. You have given me so much more than you could ever know. Go on, Jay. Tell your folks I said ‘hi’”

Jared paused in letting Elena take his arm for the walk through the woods to where the small cemetery was located. He felt a cold feeling in his belly that told him not to leave, but knew he had to. With a final look back at Jensen, he walked into the woods; missing the darker clouds that slowly began to roll across the sky. “Goodbye, Jen,” he whispered

** Presently: **

Jensen stood beside the old well with his eyes on the path in the woods. He longed to take it, to see Jared one more time, but knew he had to remain where he was. The first low menacing growl reminded him why.

“You won’t hurt him anymore,” he said without looking over to the side of the driveway. He didn’t need to. Chad had told him once he started the rituals, the witch would feel it. To give these spells strength he might have to release some of the ones around the property. “Jared’s beyond your curse now andsoon he will move into the light to be with his family. You’ve lost, Welling.”

The clouds in the formerly blue sky had been darkening but now it seemed like they rolled in black, as black at the mood and power of the man facing Jensen now.

“You have no power to take what belongs to me, Ackles!” Tom Welling had been willing to humor the old bitch and this simple modern man their delusions that they could break his hold on the Padalecki whelp. He’d expected Jensen to fold, to sell after he continued to harass him, or have his lackeys in town do his bidding. But then the town slowly began to turn against his will and he’d know it had been Ackles’ scoffing at the old legends. “You can’t break that curse because…”

Jensen whirled with fury on his face, green eyes both hot and wet with tears as he faced the witch that had made Jared suffer for so long. “I love him, you bastard!” he shouted at him, seeing the shock on the other man’s face but not knowing if it was over being yelled at or his words. “You thought you’d trapped Jared because no one would ever figure out the loophole in your curse, that no one would come here to help him, or look at that beautiful gentle boy as anything more than a toy to be hurt or abused by you. Well, here’s a lesson for you, asshole.

“I love him. I care for him. I would have willingly given him the world if I could’ve kept him with me instead of letting him go to find the peace that your damn obsessive cruelty robbed him of. My love, the love he gave back without even understanding it, broke your curse and…” Jensen paused as a crack of power could be heard through the woods which told him that Chad had destroyed the cuffs and that Jared was truly free of the witch’s curse; a fact that he figured Welling felt as well as his face became even more enraged. “He’s free and now he’ll go into the light and you will not step foot past me to stop him or hurt him ever again.”

Welling stared at Jensen and then past him to the woods where he could feel the power changing, could hear the words of the spell on the air, and with a wave of his hand he cast a dark wave of energy that took the mortal off his feet to slam into the ground a good six feet from where he’d been standing.

“Stupid! You and the abomination are both stupid if you think I can’t destroy you and still claim what was mine from the moment I first saw him back in Salem!” he screamed in fury, ground shaking in his rage at possibly losing his toy. “Even if you’ve stolen him from me, you won’t live to gloat or destroy me, Ackles! I will make you pay for this affront! I will make you suffer, scream in agony as my pet rips you apart slowly. Then I will destroy this place you thought to steal from me and once I have, I will destroy his grave and make certain even in a possible death he knows no peace because you will die!”

Jensen had heard most of that rant despite having hit the ground hard. He’d felt something crack and prayed it wasn’t anything serious but before he could move, if he even could, he felt weight on his chest and the large black dog that he hadn’t fully seen before, was now very visible and very much about to rip his throat out.

He had something in his pocket that Chad had given him to help even the odds but couldn’t make his arm move to reach for it. The fear was choking Jensen as he stared up into the glaring red eyes of the beast whose razor sharp teeth were snapping as Welling stepped closer to give a brutal kick to his side.

The fear and pain were there, but Jensen knew that what happened to him didn’t matter as another sharp bolt of lightning was seen from deep in the woods; a wave of warm energy and a sound of a dog howling was heard.

Even as Jensen was trying to move one of his arms, trying to keep the beast from ripping his throat out, he knew that it didn’t matter what happened to him now because it was over. He almost knew with the wave of warmth that Jared was free, he was at peace, and that was all Jensen had wanted in the end.

“You shouldn’t have tried to be a hero, Dr. Ackles,” Welling sneered with another hard kick, this time to Jensen’s head. “Your death is as meaningless as your life obviously was. Kill him!”

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

**Breaking Free**

**Chapter Ten**

Jensen Ackles had a glimpse of razor sharp teeth in a frothing mouth of the huge black beast lunging to rip out his throat before he managed to clamp his eyes shut. He made himself think of a dimpled smile and happy bright hazel eyes in the hopes he wouldn’t scream at his own death, but just as he could feel hot breath against his cheek, there was another howl, a deep growl, and suddenly the weight on his chest was gone as feral snarls and growls could be heard coming from near him. The next sound he heard made his heart stop.

“The only meaningless life here has always been yours, boy.”

Jensen’s eyes opened but the pain he was in now, as well as the shock, made his vision blurry. He still could see Tom Welling spinning, only to be frozen in his spot by the hand Sarah Padalecki had raised as she walked, no, glided from her spot under the tree where she had died.

“You have no power here, bitch!” Welling shouted, trying to see what had stopped his pet from killing Jensen only to howl in pain.

“I have more power than you have at this moment, Thomas Welling.” Sarah stopped once she was between Jensen and the evil witch that had destroyed her family. “Do you know who I am or have there been too many years since you bewitched your father into calling for the death of my daughters and then myself?”

Welling’s lip curled back in hate and disgust as he spat at the ground near the spirit’s feet. “You’re the whore who gave birth to the abomination after you married someone not of our faith,” he sneered only to gasp when his head snapped back and blood trailed from his mouth. “What… you are a witch! You…”

“The old lessons were passed down in my family just as they were in your own poor deluded mother’s. Most of what they called witchcraft always came from the maternal line, silly boy. Your mother and mine were cousins, four times removed, but while she passed on the evil, mine taught me to only use it for healing and only when needed.” Sarah glared with dark hazel eyes into the face of her son’s tormentor while the huge white dog easily dispatched the black, red eyed beast with a snap of powerful jaws before dissolving into the dirt near the old shed.

“You used the dark arts to hurt, to claim, to bind my boy after you destroyed and scared those who would have defended him. You treated him like an animal while using him for your own twisted desires. You told him hateful lies to scare him, to make him believe he was those things you called him, and convinced him no one would ever come to save him or love him. But you were wrong,” she glanced back at Jensen with a soft smile before her face hardened once again as she glared at Welling. “Jensen came. Jensen was the one meant to find his way here and free my son. Jensen was the one who, while freeing himself from his own shackles of life, freed Jared.”

“Freed the freak only to die or suffer alone!” Welling spit furiously, trying to wipe the bitch’s spirit away from him only to find nothing he did would work. “What have you done, woman?” he demanded in a rage. “I am still more powerful than a meager healer! I… _ugh_!”

“Shut your vile mouth! If there is any freak or abomination, it is you!” Sarah snapped angrily as the wind suddenly picked up to blow her hair and dress lightly while the white dog trotted back to sit beside Jensen, where he still couldn’t move to even roll to his side. “You were here the day your worthless father and his cowardly friends drowned my daughters and hung me by the neck from that tree. Tell me, whelp, do you remember my last words to you?”

Welling obviously did by the way his eyes narrowed, but still he tried to mock the spirit. “Your threats and weak curses mean nothing to me, woman! You were nothing when alive but a whore and a…ugh!” he screamed as he suddenly dropped to the ground as the sound of a bone breaking in his leg could be heard.

“I promised to see justice done for the wrongs committed against my family. You murdered my husband, my daughters. My son was enslaved for two years and hurt in ways that when your own father learned of just what went on in that barn, it killed him before you killed the rest of your kin. After, your mother sold this land back to my kin as a way to make weak restitution for the sins you committed.” Sarah glanced up as the black clouds slowly began to ease away as lighter ones struggled to take their place. “I promised to never leave this place until my son was at peace, until Jared was happy, and I knew he’d be cared for by someone who loved him. You failed to stop Jensen from freeing him and while Jensen is hurt, he will not die… but _you_ will.”

“He can’t even move! His back is broken from where he hit the ground, so the good doctor can’t do anything to me.” Welling smirked smugly and looked over at Jensen. “This weak woman’s spirit might have saved you from having your throat ripped out, but she’s powerless to keep me from killing you once I get past whatever spell she’s trying to use in this form. You will die and I will make sure you die choking on your own blood as that abomination did when he died centuries ago.”

Jensen struggled to move, to make something wiggle, to prove to himself that Welling’s boasts about his back being broken weren’t true. But the longer it went that he couldn’t move, it began to dawn on him that he really couldn’t feel too much more than burning pain, and he began to panic a little more. He felt a cold wet nose of the white dog he’d seen that day in the barn nudging his cheek and something made him calm down, even though he knew the man’s threats were very real.

“Even after so long your arrogance is only outmatched by your stupidity,” Sarah smiled, stepping back to kneel beside Jensen to place a light hand that shimmered lightly over his chest. “I still have power in this form but it’s not my power holding you but that boy’s, and it’s not Jensen who will end your reign of terror and pain but my son.”

“You’re crazy! Your freak of a heathen son was dragged to Hell for his sinful ways!” Welling shouted at her as the wind kicked up, knocking him back when he pushed against whatever was holding him at bay and away from a prone Jensen. “You cannot do this! I will have this land! I will have…”

“No, you won’t.”

Welling’s eyes snapped from where he was glaring with hate at Jensen to where the new voice came from. “The little witch boy thinks he can fool me with images,” he laughed as he tried to push forward again, only to grunt when this time the wind shoved him back fully away from Jensen. “You can’t be here! You’re in hell where you and all your kind deserve to be!”

“You deserve to be in Hell with Satan for what you’ve done to me, to others, and now to Jensen.” Jared Padalecki stepped from the path in the woods to stare into the hateful eyes of his former tormentor. “Jensen told me you had no more power over me if I didn’t fear you. I don’t fully understand what’s happening, but I know that you can no longer hurt me. You have no power here, on this land, or over me. I will not fear you because you are nothing but the monster you always said I was.

“You used fear and dark spells to hurt and frighten those weaker than you. You hurt me while I lived, you kept me trapped here even after I died. It took the courage of that man that you have tried to cripple, to kill to save me and with all the new courage he has taught me, I will protect him from you,” he went on in a voice that still sounded deeper, stronger even to Jared himself as he crossed the yard now with a long, steady stride. “You will be banished from Jensen’s land and you will not hurt us again!”

“Stupid freak!” Welling spat but felt an odd change in the energy around him. “You are nothing! You will never be anything! You couldn’t go to heaven. Hell wouldn’t take someone like you, so you think you can defeat me with your bare hands? Boy, I am…”

“You are nothing but an arrogant, sick monster!” Jared shouted back, emotions he hadn’t ever dared to express in life spilling out as he looked between Welling’s hateful eyes to where Jensen laid on the ground with blood on the dirt and on him, before pulling something out from behind him. “You are what they call today a bully! You need to hurt, to shame, to abuse others to make yourself more powerful. You used the old legends, the old fears the people in town have lived with since those days, but you lost that power when Jensen stood up to you.

“I might still not be smart enough to be in this time with him, or to try to live in this time, but if he meant all of what he said to me, if Jensen meant anything he’s said to me, then I will let him teach me. I will learn to be a man he can love but you are done!” He gripped the smooth piece of what looked like a simple white branch but as Welling’s smug expression suddenly changed, it was plain the witch knew what it really was.

“You liked to brag to me as you were forcing yourself on me how important your family was, how important your father the Pastor was, and how my family was nothing because my mother married a man not of our faith or country.” Jared looked between Welling’s face to the item in his hand. “You know what this is. You know it’s a weapon meant to kill witches, but usually only witch hunters in the Old World used these type of weapons forged from a White Oak. This is why you killed my father. You had learned not only had he come from a long line of physicians, but the Padalecki line also were witch hunters. You feared he would kill you for your actions. You killed him. You killed my family, and now you tried to kill a man I’ve learned it safe to say… I love you, Jensen.”

“Sinner! Freak! Monster!” Welling screamed as it suddenly felt like strong invisible hands were holding his arms back so he couldn’t strike out at this young man. “Even if that stick is the weapon used to kill witches, you don’t have the guts to use it! You’re a coward! You’re a… ugh!” he grunted as suddenly a sharp pain pierced his chest and he suddenly stared up at Jared, shocked.

“I’m alive and you can go rot in Hell!” Jared gave the weapon another shove until it pierced the man’s chest fully, stepping back at a shout of his name to watch as Welling’s body dropped to the ground. With a sudden scream of rage and pain, he convulsed before a large section of ground seemed to suddenly collapse into itself and with a sudden black, heavy, mass of dark energy creeping around the writhing man, Tom Welling’s body and any threat he might pose was soon gone.

“Okay, so now I’ll have something to tell my grandkids.” Chad Michael Murray muttered, eyes wide, from where he’d been standing back, ready to counter any spells used by Welling. Now he was trying to figure out what the hell had been happening from the moment he first realized something had gone very wrong with his one spell… or very right, depending on how one looked at it. Now he was too busy reaching for his phone to call for an ambulance because one look at where Jensen was still on the ground told him they’d need more than a few healing spells for the man.

“Jensen!” The moment the noise settled and the ground was normal again, if a little darker in color than before, Jared was dropping the weapon in his hand and running to where the spirit of his mother still knelt beside the man he owed his freedom to. “Jen! Jensen? How… how bad is he hurt?” he asked his mother’s spirit, one hand moving to grasp Jensen’s while his other went to the dog.

Sarah looked between them for a moment before offering her nervous son a calming smile. “His back is not broken, but he has suffered serious bruises and should seek modern medical help.” She placed a hand over the one Jared had on Jensen and knew Jared could feel the light tingle. “Your father and I are proud of you, Jared. Not only have you taken the first step to being the strong young man we always knew you would be by making the choice you have, but you stood up to the evil that has haunted you since you were a boy. You chose well, my sweet little boy.”

Jared had feared his parents would be upset with both his choice and the ultimate outcome of what happened earlier back in the cemetery, something that he hoped someone could completely explain to him before he had to explain it to Jensen.

“Jen?” he looked down to see glassy green eyes were still half open and he felt fingers trying to close around his. Jared moved the hand that had been on the large white dog to carefully card back through Jensen’s hair. He felt something sticky toward the back and pushed down a surge of fear to make himself stay focused while hearing Chad say help was coming and to keep Jensen still. “It’s okay, Jensen. It’s over. You kept Welling away, you protected me so Chad could do his thing. Now… now I’ll protect you. You’re going to be fine and I’ll…”

Jared stopped in mid-sentence to look over his shoulder. “Can I leave the property now?” he asked with concern. He didn’t want to let Jensen go anywhere without him, he wanted to be beside the man he not only loved but had managed to hold on to his life for, but was still uncertain what he could do or might not be able to do yet. “Can I go with him to wherever he needs to go to be helped?”

“Dude, the curse is gone. You can go anywhere you want, do anything you want now.” Chad replied as he came closer with a blanket he’d grabbed from the house while Elena joined him while sending her grandsons down the driveway to make certain the ambulance actually found it. “You can go with Jensen but the dog might have to hang back here… this is a dog right?”

A soft, almost disgusted, woof was heard as the white dog merely shot Chad a look before simply walking over to sit beside the front door as if waiting for permission to enter the home.

“Okay, someone explain this to me, so I can explain it to Jared, so he can explain it to Jensen.” Chad was still at a loss to what the hell he’d seen happen and the moment he was free, he was placing some calls to see if someone back in Salem could give him a straight answer since Elena Porter had only said ‘what happened was what had been meant to’. “And tell me where the dog came from too or how old this dog is because it seemed to know Jared and Jared knew it but… let’s wait until I lie to the medics about how Jensen got hurt.”

“Oh pish-posh. You go inside and gather some clean clothes for both boys and see if there’s a number to call that friend of his who’s convinced a strong wind will blow this place away.” Elena waved Chad away as Sarah’s spirit slowly faded out with a final soft comment to her very confused son. “I’ll handle speaking to the paramedics since most of them know me.”

“And fear her cane,” one of her grandsons called out with a laugh since he was far enough away to avoid being hit.

Jared let the conversations going on around him tune out as he sat down on the gravel driveway with Jensen’s hand held tightly in one hand and his other fighting not to tremble as he stroked over the man’s bruised cheek where he guessed Welling had used his power to strike Jensen. “Just relax now, Jen. Elena says these doctors today are good and Mother says you’re not broken. I’ll be with you when you wake up but just relax now and… I love you, Jensen,” he whispered as he leaned down once he saw Jensen’s lips moving but his words were too soft to hear right then as pain and shock began to pull him under into darkness.

Consciousness was fading quickly and Jensen wasn’t certain if what he was hearing or seeing was real or his mind showing him what he wanted to see, to hear. He felt Jared’s hand holding his, felt his fingers stroking his cheek as he heard him speaking to him in a voice that Jensen almost knew the younger man was fighting to keep steady.

He wanted to return the soft words he thought, he hoped he’d heard, but couldn’t and just silently said them and prayed in a way he hadn’t since his childhood that when he woke up he’d see hazel eyes flecked with golds and blue.

** Hours later at the local hospital: **

The smell of antiseptic hit Jensen’s nose when he began to wake up. He wasn’t fully alert enough to put too many pieces together right then as he struggled past the thick fog that seemed to be trying to push him back under thanks to what he almost knew was some kind of pain medication.

His tongue felt like cotton, his body ached, but at least he could feel his fingers moving. Slowly he felt himself start to lift an arm, only to immediately feel fingers on his wrist as if trying to prevent him from moving it. Normally Jensen would’ve balked at anyone touching him after being injured in any way but this touch had him fighting to get his eyes open so he could see… “… J-Jared.”

“Hey, Jen.” Jared leaned up in the chair that he’d pulled close to the bed the moment Jensen had finally been moved to a room once the modern healers were done moving him all over the place to run various tests; tests that Jared knew he didn’t understand but took Elena and Chad’s word that Jensen would be safe.

The last nine hours had been both frightening and confusing to a young man who realized with some worry that he had a lot left to learn about the 21st century.

He’d been allowed to ride in the ambulance with Jensen, only because Elena had slapped one of the older paramedics with her cane and threatened to call his mother about something he’d done as a teenager. Jared had stayed quiet and only held Jensen’s hand. He had tensed the first time a nurse tried to insert a needle into Jensen’s arm but by then a kind doctor was explaining that he should wait outside with Elena while they checked Jensen over.

It wasn’t a good choice in Jared’s opinion but it gave him time to try to calm down, to settle his thoughts and to figure out what had happened once he left Jensen’s sight to walk through the woods to the cemetery.

** Earlier, at the Cemetery Plot: **

“Will… you make certain Jensen’s okay, Miss Elena?” he’d asked as he walked the cleared path slowly, but kept looking around as if feeling something or someone watching him. “Make sure his friend comes to visit or… try to make him sell this place back to you so he doesn’t stay here and waste his life brooding over what we couldn’t have?”

“Child, I will watch over Jensen, but don’t worry yourself yet over him brooding too much about you. You need to have faith that this will all work out in a good way.” Elena said as she patted his arm while leading him over to where the casket had been sat on heavy boards over an already dug hole. “You’ve faced great pain and great odds to get to this place, Jared. Your family would be proud.”

Jared wasn’t sure about that since he worried what had been done to him would still make him unclean to enter Heaven or be with his family. The doubts he still had also weighed heavily on him as they watched Chad remove the rusted, etched cuffs to place them in a small hole he’d just dug in the soft dirt.

“I want to stay with Jensen so badly,” he suddenly said, but didn’t direct it at anyone in particular. Jared just felt the need to express himself, to say those words to someone other than the man he’d become so devoted to so quickly. He’d been about to speak again when suddenly a bolt of lightning seemed to shoot into the hole, a flash of red flame shot out, and suddenly Jared was on his knees with a gasp as a pain he couldn’t describe passed through his body. “What was that?”

Chad’s eyes were huge as he picked himself back up from where he’d fallen after jumping back in surprise. “I have no clue… I was not expecting that reaction,” he said but moved to look into the hole. He found that where he’d been expecting the fire to turn the old cuffs black, they’d been turned to literal dust. “You feel any different?”

“Not since I can breathe again.” Jared shot back but missed the raised eyebrows several people around him raised at his tone. “So… that… What you just did, it broke the curse?”

“Yeah, that’s the theory.” Chad swore if he was wrong he’d move to Alaska or some out of the way island because that would be the only way Jensen wouldn’t kick his ass for failing Jared. “Give me a couple minutes to set up and for the old guy here to finish saying prayers, and we’ll send you into the light.” He reached for a satchel he’d brought but paused. “Jared? Are you… I mean, I know I can’t promise to ever find a way to beat that dick Welling back without doing it this way but… never mind. Say your goodbyes to being solid and we’ll get this show moving.”

Jared turned away. He didn’t want to watch this next part so he moved to where there was a stone for his father and mother and knelt. “Please, if either of you can before you leave this place, since Jensen said he didn’t think you were trapped here like I am, please try to protect Jensen. Please don’t let Welling hurt him.”

“Have you come to understand what broke the one part of the curse?” Stephen Padalecki spoke from where he stood a few feet away.

Right then as Jared looked, he saw that his father was dressed in dark slacks, a brightly colored shirt and some kind of boots. He also saw that he wasn’t alone and Jared felt his breath catch as the huge white dog bounded from beside his father to leap and actually knock him over with a bark.

“Holy shit! What the hell is… damn it, old woman! Stop hitting me!” Chad yelled as he’d whirled to see the animal but couldn’t see the spirit as Elena wailed on his arm with her cane. “What is that thing and where did it come from?”

“It’s a dog and I believe it’s knows Jared.” Elena remarked calmly while shushing her present grandsons who might not have blinked at what was happening, but the arrival of the dog did send up some alarm from them. “My descendant, Jared’s sister, wrote in that journal that Jared had a puppy before he was taken but it had run away into the woods chasing a rabbit one day and never returned. The family has long said they’d often spot a white dog in the woods or near the border of the lands, but it never got close. They could hear it howl at times. I believe this might be that dog or a descendant of that dog and it’s come to be with Jared now.”

Jared’s arms wrapped around the furry body that was big enough to nearly cover his body as it licked his face. He laughed softly until he finally was able to sit back up with the animal laying over his legs and he looked up to see his father still standing there. “Is this Odin?” he asked uncertainly, fingers going over thick fur that looked too clean for an animal that lived in the woods. “How?”

“There are many things we can’t explain in this world, Jared.” Stephen approached slowly but let his eyes move to the path where the sky had started to turn black. “Welling is angry. You must choose now, my son. I said the last time I saw you that the choice would need to be made to help you both break the shackles of your life, and now is that time.”

Jared pushed to his feet, hearing the dog snarl at something beyond the woods and he felt something in his chest tighten as if feeling Jensen’s anxiety and then pain. “If I cross, if my bones burn, will he also be destroyed?” he needed to know that leaving wouldn’t be in vain. “Chad? Will it?”

“I… I can’t promise you anything right now, kiddo.” Chad wished he could. He’d prepped the bones with the herbs and powders his elders in Salem said to use, he’d doused the bones with an oil he was sure he didn’t want to know the ingredients of since Elena had supplied it. Now all he could do was say the spell and hope. “Either way, Jensen wants you or… he doesn’t want you to go, but he knows he can’t keep you safe from Welling if you stay here so… let’s get you crossed and then I’ll go see if my modern magic is stronger than old magic.”

“I want to stay, Father,” Jared murmured, fingers tightening around the ring Jensen had given him to feel it warm beneath his touch. “I know I can’t. I know it would endanger Jensen and those who live in the village but… is it wrong of me to wish I could? I… Jensen’s love for me, how I feel for him, broke the witch’s hold.

“I still don’t fully understand everything about being… gay… or what those men on the videos Chad showed me were doing,” he inwardly winced when Chad let out a yelp as Elena slapped him and one of the boys yelled about him showing an out-of-time ghost porn. “A piece of me still believes what I was told but… I don’t care right now if loving Jensen is right or wrong. I care about him, and I want to be with him to fight the witch who took my family.”

“Ahh, that’s the Padalecki coming out in you,” Stephen chuckled as he moved a hand and suddenly an old battered box that Jared had once seen in the attic was there on the ground. “You come from a line that was long with physicians, Jared, but your line was also long with hunters of evil. They called themselves witch hunters in the Old Country and while I’d long since stopped hunting when I moved here, when I met your mother to marry and have a family, it never fully leaves the blood.”

Jared blinked in shock at this new bit of news. “You… but… if you were one of those, and if you knew who the witch was, why didn’t you… you tried but weren’t quick enough to protect yourself from his magic.”

“I suspected back in Salem that the Welling brat was the evil one who caused all that harm but really had no proof. It wasn’t until we moved here that I began to piece things together. But before I could deal with him fully after he tried to attack you, I was sickened. Then I could just pray… But while your mother and sisters were granted somewhat merciful deaths, and Helena was raised safely, it was you who suffered.” Stephen shook his head sadly as he stepped up to lay a hand on his son’s arm. “I spent many a restless time in that attic wishing you could be helped but I knew help would come in time. Now… now is the time for your suffering to end, Jared. Now it’s time for your life to begin anew.”

“I don’t want a new life, Father. I want a life with the man I love and who loves me; the man who might die trying to protect me while I watch my bones burn so I can cross into the light to join you and Mother.” Jared replied, clutching the ring in his hand as he dropped to his knees; a sudden pain shot through his head and he swore he heard a snap of power, a voice calling his name that sounded too much like Jensen, and the next thing Jared knew he was opening his eyes without knowing he’d closed them to find a frantic Chad and a calm Elena both staring at him. “Chad… burn my bones before I take my chances with Welling. If I have to cross then… do it.”

“Do it?” Chad was practically jumping around like a hyper Chihuahua as he stared between Jared, the casket, and the very visible spirit of Jared’s father. “Dude! I did light your bones on fire! They burned, you dropped, the fire went out and there’s nothing there! No bones, no ash! Nothing! What the hell did I do wrong in that spell or... the curse or…”

Stephen clucked his tongue at the hyper mortal while holding a hand out to a confused Jared. “Your spell worked the way it was meant to, boy. It cleansed my son’s bones of any remaining taint left on them by what was done to him. The bones were cleansed as Jared was cleansed of anything marking him. You made the choice the first night you went into the house to see that man, Jared. You will not cross this day, but when you do, your mother, sisters and I will be waiting for you.”

Jared stared at his father before jerking up his shirt to see the scars on his chest were gone. He turned and tried to see his back but couldn’t, and still wouldn’t let anyone else look at him. “What… what does this mean?” he asked only to swallow as his father placed what looked like a branch of White Oak, whittled into a sharp point, into his hand.

“Now you take this and go save the man who saved you, my son.” Stephen replied as the white dog suddenly took off running with a howl. “The witch’s demon creature will rip that boy apart if not stopped. I am not saying to pick up the family occupation, Jared. I think the witch boy behind you might object but…”

“Chad’s not evil. Welling is evil and I won’t let him hurt Jensen.” Jared said as he turned to look at Elena but somehow knew she might have suspected this would be the outcome. He’d find that out later; right then all the young man wanted was to get to Jensen and stop Welling from hurting Jensen. “Jensen!”

** Presently at the hospital: **

Jared recalled his frantic run back to the house and the horror he felt at seeing Jensen on the ground while the dog and his mother’s spirit stayed between the man and the furious witch. For however long he lived now, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever forget that feeling or the sudden longing to curl in Jensen’s arms again to have to reassure him this was real and not some dream. At that moment though, it was Jared reassuring a still groggy and confused Jensen that he was real and not a dream.

He’d quietly told Jensen what he knew, as well as some of what Chad and Elena told him they thought had happened, while sitting beside the bed, leaning closer to let Jensen trace his fingers over his face as if testing if he was truly solid and real.

“The doctors say you hit your head pretty head so you have a… con…” Jared paused to try to recall the word but still had trouble with some modern terms or words. “They say your head will be sore and fuzzy for a few days but your back’s not broke and that the reason you couldn’t move back there was you’d hit a nerve or something and it… stunned your synaptic nerve or something. You can ask them but you’ll be okay, Jensen.”

Jensen actually understood most of what Jared said, both about what happened in the woods and what he recited of the doctors’ diagnosis. He was relieved that he hadn’t actually broken anything considering the force of how he landed and if he only came out of it with some bruises and a concussion. Right then he was more concerned with verifying Jared was solid and okay.

“Are you hurt?” he asked once he took a couple sips of the water Jared poured and held out for him. “Did they look you over to be sure you’re okay or… _how_?” Jensen had pushed the button to raise the bed a little so he wasn’t flat. He wanted to look at Jared better. “Jared, don’t think I’m not thrilled that you’re still here with me, still solid and real because I am. I… I just thought after everything you’ve been through that given a choice between starting over with me or being with your family that you’d choose... God, I’m so damn glad you’re still here, Jay.”

“Father said I’d made my choice when I entered the house the first night,” Jared replied softly while feeling some of his worry easing away. He had been scared that perhaps Jensen hadn’t meant everything he’d said or that he’d only meant it while they’d been battling to free him from both the curse and being trapped by Welling’s spells. When he heard the break in Jensen’s normally steady and strong voice, heard the raw emotion, he realized the man still loved him, still wanted him.

“He said the fire cleansed my bones of any leftover dark magic that might have been left, because of whatever links us, instead of burning which would take me into the light, the bones went away because technically I… I don’t think I’m dead now but everything Chad was saying and Elena was saying back to him went over my head. Chad also thinks you giving me your ring helped too.” The younger man decided he’d let Jensen figure out the details to why he wasn’t dead; he was just glad to be solid and to still be able to be with Jensen. “I’m real, Jen. I’m… I’m really here this time and unless I get sick or hit by a bus, Chad’s explanation, I can stay with you. If… if that’s what you… Jensen!”

Jensen hand moved his hand down to catch Jared’s wrist and gave it a tug until the younger man was out of the chair and sitting on the side of the bed. Then he forced his still stiff and sore arm up to twist his fingers in Jared’s shirt in order to pull him closer.

“I have wanted you since before I actually met you, Jared. I did not want to let you go into those woods or cross over, but knew I also couldn’t keep you from being at peace or with your family all because I was feeling selfish,” he said in a low husky voice, meeting Jared’s eyes to see the flecks of gold and blue shining like they did when the young man was happy. “I told you before that I love you, that I want you and… the first thing we’re doing the moment I sign myself out of this damn place is going home and… discussing some of the stuff you’ve been watching or reading because now that I know I don’t have to let you go, I really want to explain what we can do, what we will do, when you feel ready.”

Jared had been quick to put his one hand up on the bed to support himself when Jensen had tugged him closer to prevent landing on the man and possibly injuring him more. He held that arm stiff until he felt another tug and Jensen’s arm slid up to wrap around him, bringing him close enough so their chests touched and he felt warm breath on his face. “Maybe less talk… more demonstrating?” he had no idea what that meant, but had read it in a book and thought it sounded right for what he suddenly was very interested in learning more about.

“You have definitely been reading too many books and watching too much porn on my iPad,” Jensen chuckled, lips curving in a slow smile while gently running his hand up Jared’s back until he felt him slowly begin to relax a little more and was able to bring him down closer to let their lips brush lightly. “Real sex is about more than what you’ve seen, Jay. It’s about trust.” He kissed Jared again but kept each kiss light, teasing. “It’s about me showing you how to be loved, how you deserve to be touched, and to reassure you that what that bastard did can be done without hurting you.”

Jared shivered at the soft kisses and the touch of fingers stroking over the back of his neck. He’d noticed since the cemetery that all of his senses seemed stronger, more enhanced, but had shrugged it off as his own imagination. Now as he leaned more into the kiss, Jared felt his body reacting more than it ever had to Jensen’s kisses, making him gasp and start to pull back shyly when fingers closed over his neck.

“Don’t be scared, babe. Whatever you feel is normal,” Jensen murmured against soft plush lips but knew he had to stop, slow down so he didn’t take Jared too far too fast or in a hospital room. “A lot of what you feel might be more intense now, so we’ll take it slow and I’ll try to answer any questions you might have.” He moved his hand down to gently tip Jared’s face up to smile fully. “And since now that you can leave the property line, I can take you out for that dinner I wanted to.”

“Can we stay here or… will you move back to your old home now?” Jared asked warily. He felt a little uneasy at the thought of leaving Porterville even though he was a little curious to what other places might be like.

“Of course we’re staying here, Jay. This is our home. Porterville, that house is my home now.” Jensen hadn’t even considered that Jared might think he’d move away. “I’m not going to say we can’t travel, because I’d like to take you to see other places, but we will always come back here. I meant it when I said I’d rebuild the house to be like it was when you first built it, but I do plan to let Chris tear down the barn and shed and build new things if that’s okay with you.”

“Yes!” Jared knew it would hurt if too many changes were made to the house but he wanted those outer buildings gone as badly as Jensen did. “You can build a new barn or something, but I don’t know if I could go in that one even if you had someone bless it or the land to be sure there’s nothing left of him on it.”

Jensen planned to do that as soon as he could speak to Elena because while he might not be very religious, he wouldn’t risk any leftover evil remaining on his property to hurt either of them. “We’ll get that done and I promise that you and I will make that place into the home it should’ve been… Not that I know much about making a home, but I’ll learn.”

“You’ve already made it a home just by loving him, Jensen.” Elena Porter’s voice spoke from the door where she stood with a smile. “I’m heading out there now with Silas and that annoyingly hyper boy to do a cleansing. The doctor will be in to speak with you shortly but I think he wants to keep you overnight.”

“No.” Jensen didn’t want to stay in the hospital. He wanted to go home, or more to his point, he wanted to take Jared home where he knew he didn’t have to worry about him fading away or anything trying to harm either of them. “I’m fine. I can rest at home. I can… Jay, don’t give me that look.” He dropped his head back to the pillow with a soft groan of pain as soft, sad hazel eyes locked on his and Jensen knew despite all his fancy training to outthink the best minds, he was not going to be able to refuse Jared’s sad or worried look. “I don’t want Jared there by himself yet.”

“Oh, I’ve mentioned that to the staff and while it’s against protocol, it is only for one night so they’ll let Jared stay with you.” Elena reassured him as she stepped closer to adjust the blankets on the bed before resting a hand over Jensen’s. “I just wanted to say before I left how glad I am that you came to me the day you did and I chose to sell to you. No one else ever would’ve done for him what you did, or feel for him what you do. I am proud that you didn’t run when most would’ve. You stayed and you fought for Jared even though you thought you’d lose him.”

Jensen shifted a little more on the bed so he could leave room on the side. He kept his hand on Jared when he felt him start to move away and felt pleased when all he had to do was give a little squeeze to his wrist to signal him to stay where he was.

“I knew from the night I first saw him that to help him, I’d have to let go,” he replied with a careful shrug while turning his head to give a smile up at Jared. “I knew it would hurt and I’m thrilled to still have him but… do his folks understand?”

“Sarah and Stephen haven’t crossed back yet. I think they want to say their goodbyes, but they understand the choice Jared had made and love him for it.” Elena gave both young men a kiss to the cheek and was moving towards the door just as a knock was heard and a young doctor stepped in. “I’ll go check the house and the dog. You boys sleep tonight and Jensen, do what this boy tells you to so he’ll release you tomorrow.”

“I’m releasing _myself_ tomorrow.” Jensen muttered, but to the older woman he merely nodded and settled back on the bed with Jared beside him to listen to the doctor in charge of his care give him the exact details on how lucky he was to have only gotten a mild concussion, a gash on the back of his head that needed a few stitches, three cracked ribs and a back of bruises by falling off the roof of his barn. “Uh-huh,” he decided not to ask how they’d passed that lie off but since the doctor seemed to not want to question it, the young psychologist merely asked the vital question in his mind. “When can I go home?”

“We want to keep you overnight to be sure we didn’t miss anything or you don’t develop any complications once your body fully gets over the shock of the fall and landing like you did,” the doctor told him as two interns brought in a rollaway bed as he glanced at the chart. “Dr. Ackles, a fall like that could’ve crippled you, so we’d like to make certain before releasing you.”

Jensen felt Jared tense at the reminder of how badly he could’ve been hurt but just let his thumb  slowly caress his wrist to let him know he was fine and not to worry. “I must’ve had an angel looking out for me then,” he said in reply to the attending physician who laughed in surprise.

“I thought most shrinks… I’m sorry, most psychologists, believed in more practical things than angels,” he remarked but then frowned as he must have remembered something else.

“I left my career behind to come here to hunt ghosts. I’m pretty sure I’m beyond what most of my colleagues think is proper or correct.” Jensen returned with just a bit more bite in his voice while staring at the doctor with the look that never failed to shut down others in his field when they tried to mock his age or his studies. “Is there anything else or can I try to sleep now?”

The doctor must have gotten the hint because he gave a nod and quickly left the room with a quick comment that the nurses would be checking in over the night to be sure he was resting comfortably.

“Not so subtle translation into I can’t pull you into bed with me and kiss you senseless like I might’ve considered briefly.” Jensen told Jared and loved the faint blush that came to his cheeks as he leaned closer to lightly kiss Jensen’s cheek.

“You should rest,” Jared told him with a small smile; a smile that turned slightly mischievous as he began to move off the bed to go examine the clearly too short rollaway bed. “You can kiss me senseless in your bed at home once you get out of here.”

Jensen blinked in surprise and then laughed. He watched as Jared stretched out on the rollaway bed that ended up being a good eight inches too short for him, but stayed quiet as it was plain that Jared was tired and despite saying he wasn’t sleepy, and he was soon fast asleep with his hand closed around Jensen’s Princeton ring. “I love you, Jay,” he whispered to the quiet room.

As Jensen slowly let himself drift off to sleep, he let himself dream of tomorrow. He dreamed of what the future would bring for both him and Jared as they built their life together and was determined to give Jared a good and happy life.

The next day had Jensen being released even though the doctor stressed that he needed to rest, soak his back and stay off of roofs. He’d agreed, shook the man’s hand as he thanked him for taking care of him, and then was nudging a slightly nervous Jared out of the hospital and into his SUV that a grumbling Chris Kane was driving.

Chris had arrived that morning. He’d been given the details of recent events by Elena and had managed not to yell the moment he stepped into Jensen’s hospital room.

“Call me the next damn time you decide to face down some crazy obsessed witch. I swear, if I was a shrink I’d be wanting to examine your head to be sure you had a brain in there, Jensen!” The gruff speaking man complained, sighing when he was shot one of Jensen’s infamous ‘back off’ looks, and also realized that while Jared didn’t fade out in fear of the deeper, rougher voice he did pull back more away from them.

Now in the SUV, Chris watched the pair in the rearview mirror to see that Jensen was talking softly to Jared about something that soon had dimples popping out as he laughed and went into his arms for the ride back to the house.

“Hey, how long would it take you to get some of your Dad’s equipment so you could raze the barn and shed?” Jensen asked once he’d reassured Jared that Chris wasn’t angry at him but was just naturally loud and opinionated.

“The moment I get a chance to call him since he already said he’d send Uncle Jack out here with a crew as soon as you decided what you wanted to do.” Chris guessed he’d leave the house alone since it was actually pretty sturdy. He’d demo the other two buildings with joy given what he’d learned about the past of the barn. “I guess you’ll want another barn put up?”

Jensen saw Jared shrug and so went with his gut. “Yeah, but maybe not in that location or as big, but since there’s a little old man around who insists I need bales of hay I guess we need a barn… and a dog house.” He had gotten the story about the dog out of Jared that morning when Chad had called asking what Jared’s dog ate as a general rule.

“I won’t even ask why you want a… okay… is that a dog or a small pony?” Chris asked when he pulled the SUV up the driveway to see the large white dog sitting beside the well as if it had been expecting them.

“His name is Odin and he used to be my dog.” Jared still wasn’t certain if it was the same animal or a descendent, but it answered to the name and was still friendly. He was glad Jensen didn’t seem alarmed by the sudden inclusion of a pet. “He’s friendly.”

The SUV pulled to a stop and Jensen stared at the house for a long moment before glancing over to see Jared’s eyes were moving between him and the house as if unsure what the next step should be or what he should be doing.

“We’re home, Jay,” he said softly and was rewarded by a bright smile. “Let’s go get you settled for real this time and start our life together now that we’ve both broken free of our pasts.”

They’d just stepped to the door when it opened and a wide-eyed Chad stepped out to greet them before heading for his car while Chris was reaching to grab the bag that had been taken to the hospital with more clothes. “Bickering ghosts in your kitchen dudes! Have fun because I’ve dealt with them all I plan to, especially since Jared’s mother is threatening to slam a skillet over his father’s skull. Call me when you need new porn to watch, kiddo… though I’m guessing pretty soon Jensen will be giving you a more up close and personal view of some of that.”

“Hey! I do not want those images in my head, Murray!” Chris shouted and shuddered. He was fine with Jensen being gay. He was even fine that he’d fallen in love with a ghost, or used-to-be-ghost since he didn’t think they could classify Jared as that anymore. “Jensen! I want a five minute warning before you two plan to do… oh holy hell!”

Jensen had been watching Jared kneel to greet the happy looking white dog while Chris took the bag inside. At his friend’s shout, he jerked his head up and bolted for the door only to pull up short at what he heard next.

“Stephen Johann Padalecki! Don’t you dare shed those clothes in this kitchen! I didn’t allow that when we were both alive and I won’t allow you now! Stephen!”

“Oh boy.”

**TBC**


	11. Chapter 11

**Breaking Free**

**Chapter Eleven**

Jensen Ackles had done a lot of research into the study of spirits, hauntings, curses, and other elements in the field he’d decided to go into when he moved to Massachusetts. He’d also read enough books, watched enough movies, to know the difference between Hollywood ghosts and real ones. Or so he thought.

Walking into the house just in time to see a heavy cast iron skillet –that he had guessed might have been original to the house and the Padalecki family-- fly off the wall and go toward the half-naked spirit form of Dr. Stephen Padalecki, the young psychologist guessed he might need to learn some more.

“You deal with this. I’m going to go call Uncle Jack about that equipment.” Chris dropped the bag inside the door and immediately turned to walk out, just as Jared came in with his eyes wide.

“Is there a reason for this?” Jensen had assumed the spirits would still be around so they could say goodbye to their son. He just wasn’t expecting to walk into _this_. “I kinda thought when ghosts changed clothes they just thought about it, and it happened. I didn’t think you… why are you stripping in my kitchen anyway?”

“Because he’s survived as a spirit through several decadent decades and thinks he can just shed his clothes wherever he is!” Sarah huffed, hands on her hips while she glared at her sheepish looking husband. “Put your shirt on so we can say our goodbyes and then leave Jared to start his life.”

Jared’s cheeks were red and knew it would take him a while to stop thinking in the mindset of Puritan times, but then he grinned when Jensen whispered in his ear that it could’ve been a lot worse. When he considered his mother’s words, he felt a sudden sadness.

“When you leave, you… won’t be back?” he asked quietly and felt the strength in Jensen’s hand as he gripped it.

“While I stayed to be sure justice was done, I also stayed for you, Jared. Stephen stayed here for you even though neither of us could do anything for you.” Sarah’s smile was gentle but also sad as she crossed to reach up and brush Jared’s bangs out of his eyes. “You’ve been gifted with a chance to live the life you never had, and you’ve been gifted with a fine and honorable man to live it out with. It’s time for your Father and I to fully cross over and join your sisters.”

“Plus, you wouldn’t want your ghost parents hanging around too much considering what I know most young couples do these days,” Stephen scoffed once he’d redressed; this time his shirt of choice was a bright lime stripped one with orange Bermuda shorts.

“Okay, we’re definitely not talking sex now.” Jensen still wasn’t sure how to have that full talk with Jared given his past, but knew he’d have to clear up some misconceptions he has now after watching a few too many porn videos. “So Jared’s really here? He can stay with me?” he asked, changing the subject and needing that one final confirmation.

“Yes, Jared is really here and he will stay with you.” Sarah smiled at both young men but her gaze moved back to Jensen. “You were brought here for a reason. I’m glad you found the courage to break your own bonds by leaving the life you had to start over here. You will never regret it.”

Jensen glanced next to him with a slow smile. “I know I won’t,” he murmured and resisted to urge to kiss Jared right then, adoring the faint blush on his cheeks as the younger man must have seen and recognized his look but knew his parents were still in the room. “I’ll love him always and I’ll make sure Jared’s happy here.”

“Good! Because if you hurt our boy I can still come back and… Sarah!” Stephen complained when his wife gripped his arm.

“Jensen won’t hurt me, Father.” Jared wasn’t naïve enough to not think they wouldn’t have fights or problems. He understood they would because he would be learning to adjust, not only to being alive, but to a different world than he’d known. Differences between them would happen, but he knew in his heart that Jensen would never raise a hand to him. “I love him. You and Mother aren’t upset that I’m staying are you?”

“Jared, you’d made the choice that led you to this time the moment you came into this house that first night to watch Jensen sleep. Your Mother and I want you to be happy, son. That’s all we ever wanted for you and now you get that chance.” Stephen reached out slowly, as if not wanting to spook his still nervous son, to hug him before stepping back as his form began to shimmer, a tell-tale sign that it was time to go. “Be good, be happy, and don’t ever forget where you come from.”

“They do not hunt witches in this time anymore, Stephen,” Sarah said with a roll of her eyes while hugging both Jared and then Jensen before joining her husband at the door. “Do not worry or fear, my sweet boy. You survived so much darkness— now it is time for you to enjoy the light. We love you, Jared.”

“I love you both as well, Mother,” Jared said softly. He and Jensen watched as the couple stepped from the home, hand in hand, to walk toward the path that led to the woods. Slowly with a look back, they smiled and waved before they vanished from sight. “Goodbye.”

Jensen stood silently beside Jared to give him time to adjust to what he knew had to have been a hard thing to accept; he’d felt his own throat tighten as they watched Jared’s parents cross over to the other side to be with their daughters. “Jay?” he finally spoke, only to find his arms wrapping around Jared the moment he did as Jared turned to move into them. “It’s okay to be sad, sweetheart. It’s okay to miss them and your sisters.”

Jared did feel sad. It was also weird for him to realize fully that this was _real_ , that he was really here with Jensen and no longer had to fear being hurt or punished. It was this rush of sudden raw emotion that had him turning into Jensen, wrapping his arms around the man to hold and to be held.

They stayed like this for several moments until finally Jared eased back to look into Jensen’s eyes. He had noticed before when they’d kissed or touched that the green of Jensen’s eyes got a little darker. Jared saw a slight change now when he moved and also felt a slight tingle along his nerves.

“Um, the doctor said to rest and soak your back,” he began softly while nervously chewing his bottom lip. Jared understood he had much to learn, but he also knew Jensen didn’t want to rush and was still hurt, so he decided both of those options sounded safe. “Do you want to do that while I… well I don’t know what to do since… um Jensen?”

Jensen’s back and head were hurting so he had already been considering both of those suggestions. He had been until Jared pulled back, their eyes met and he saw that he was chewing his lip; a habit he’d noticed Jared had and one that drove Jensen nuts because he wanted to take that soft, plush bottom lip between his own teeth and was losing what willpower he had to not rush his boyfriend…

In all of Jensen’s 28 years, he’d never actually let himself say that word about anyone, had never had anyone that he’d considered wanting to call that, but the moment the word popped into his head right then he suddenly knew what he wanted to do.

“Stay right here,” he said and gave a confused Jared a quick kiss on the lips before looking out the door to find where Chris was to see that he was over by the barn talking on his cellphone with Odin following behind. “Chris!” he shouted and then waited until his friend turned to see what he wanted to continue. “This is your only warning, stay out of the house or go into town for a couple hours! Let the dog in if you go into town though.”

Chris frowned in confused until that registered and then he rolled his eyes at the too many details that filed into his head, glancing down to see the dog watching him as if understanding. “Guess we’ll go into town and see about some lumber to make you a doghouse and avoid those two for the next several hours,” he decided and swore the dog understood him when it gave a woof in return.

Jared’s eyes were big when he heard Jensen’s warning. At first it confused him and then when Jensen turned and deep green, glittering eyes went to his, the younger man suddenly got it. The next rush of emotion he felt sort of hit him in a different part of his body, but he stayed where he was to allow Jensen to step closer.

“I know I said I wanted to move you into the more physical side of things slowly and I do. I won’t say how far we’ll go now because of my back and head, and because you won’t understand a lot of it, but if you’re willing to trust me a little more, I want to kiss you, Jared.” Jensen made himself go slow when he reached up to card long hair back out of Jared’s face so he could see that his hazel eyes were slowly darkening while the gold and blue in them looked to be shining more. “I mean kiss you more than I have and maybe show you a couple other things. I need you to tell me if you want that or if you want to wait until we’ve had a chance to get to know one another a little better.”

“Can’t we do the getting to know one another better thing during those times when we can’t kiss or touch?” Jared asked and saw Jensen’s eyes go darker yet a second before he was tugged forward into a kiss that, while hot and passionate, wasn’t rough or demanding. “Wanna do more, Jen. I want to know how to…” he stopped as he seemed to fumble over the words he wanted.

“Make love.” Jensen finished for him while gentling the kiss as he deepened it a little more than he had before. Once he felt Jared leaning into it and returning the kiss, he carefully let the tip of his tongue slip out to lick teasingly over Jared’s. “It’s okay, Jay,” he heard the soft gasp and reminded himself to go slow as well as to move this upstairs. “Can we go upstairs to the bedroom?”

Jared’s eyes slid to the kitchen table but Jensen merely laughed and gave him a laughing nudge toward the steps. “Kitchen sex is definitely for when you’re more used to sex in general and when I’m positive no one’s going to come in the door. First, I want to show you the bedroom.”

“I’ve been in your bedroom,” Jared argued only to shudder when warm fingers trailed under his shirt to skim up his chest.

“Our bedroom,” Jensen corrected and could’ve wept at the look at raw open joy just something so simple brought out in Jared. “Sweetheart, everything I have is now yours. My bed, my home, my heart. I love you so much, Jared.”

“I love you too, Jensen,” Jared whispered and then lost himself in the searing kiss that claimed his lips. Since meeting Jensen, since becoming solid, he’d learned some things, so he wasn’t frightened or worried Jensen would do things like had been done to him before.

He’d asked questions and mostly got answers, though he had noticed a few things he’d asked Jensen about what he’d seen on the videos had been conveniently left unanswered when Jensen had distracted him. As they made it into the bedroom after Jared almost thought they’d end up making out on the stairs, he groaned as Jensen pulled back. “Jen…”

“We’re not done kissing, Jay,” Jensen promised but decided to test how comfortable Jared felt with him now as he pulled his t-shirt off over his head and heard a soft breath and a softer oath that made him bite the inside of his lip.

Due to Jared’s Puritan upbringing, Jensen hadn’t taken his shirt off too much in front of him and hadn’t pressed Jared to take his off unless it was to dress any leftover wounds from his encounter with that damn mutt. At the hospital when Jared had changed into the clean clothes Chad brought, he’d done it in the small bathroom. But a couple things Chad mentioned to him was making Jensen curious now.

“Can I convince you to take your shirt off for me?” he asked as he dropped his to the floor and he saw nervous fingers playing with the bottom of Jared’s shirt, understanding the hesitance. “Jay, I promise not to touch you unless you say I can. I just want to see you, or see if those wounds… damn.” Jensen felt his breath catch this time as the t-shirt was pulled off to reveal a trim body with broad shoulders, long arms, and not as many ribs as Jensen had seen the first time he’d seen Jared without a shirt.

It seemed that whatever the spell had done to bring him back had given him back the peak of health that a young, strong man who’d worked hard on the land should’ve had. Jensen’s eyes moved over the muscular chest only to pause and look again.

“The scars… they’re gone.” Jared had watched Jensen’s eyes and face as he looked at his chest and arms, guessing what he finally noticed when those sharp green eyes moved back to his face. “They were gone when the spell was over. Father said I was given a new start because all of his taint was washed away.” He glanced down at his chest and then to his wrists which had still shown signs of the cuffs, before starting to move his fingers up to his throat when they were caught and held.

“You’ll still have the memories, but I’m hoping over time we can replace all your bad memories with good ones.” Jensen planned to start the procedure right that moment as he slowly let his fingertips move over Jared’s chest while watching his face for any signs of unease, but only saw an innocent curiosity that Jensen hoped Jared never lost. “Sit down?”

Jared nodded blindly, sitting on the bottom of the bed, but blinked when Jensen only sat beside him and moved his hand up to place it in the center of his chest. “I can… I mean, is it okay if I touch you?” he asked and wondered where the hell all of this was in those videos he’d watched.

None of this seemed to be what he’d seen or read and Jared was more than a little confused. He knew he should be scared, which he was. He also knew his body was feeling other things that left him confused but for the most part, Jared felt safe. He knew Jensen wouldn’t hurt him but he was also wishing the man would touch him more cause he was suddenly longing for more; he wanted to do more.

“Yes, I want you to touch me, Jay,” Jensen said and then just sat as still as he could manage to watch Jared as he slowly moved his finger over his chest in a similar pattern to how he’d been touched.

They’d started exploring each other more, but still Jensen had held back from doing too much, afraid of hurting them both. Now he was fascinated with watching Jared’s face as the moved his fingertips over Jensen’s chest, then down over the muscles of his abdomen.

By the third time this pattern was repeated, the clinical psychologist that used to overthink every little physical thing the few times Jensen had gone past kissing with a man had long since shut down, and he was thinking with another part of his anatomy.

To distract himself from moving too fast, Jensen eased a little closer so he could begin to kiss Jared. He started along his jaw, moving down slowly while giving little nibbles here and there; he’d learned a week or so ago that Jared enjoyed when he would graze his teeth over his jaw or throat while they kissed, and as he did so now he heard a soft moan.

“Like that, Jay?” he asked in a lower, huskier voice as he raked his teeth along the long line of Jared’s throat. He gave light little bites as he did so and began to feel the hand touching his chest drop away as Jared’s attention was lost.

“Yeah,” Jared groaned at the line of hot kisses went down his neck and then felt himself start when Jensen’s lips closed over the hollow of his throat and began to suck. “Jen!”

“You are so damn responsive, Jared,” Jensen smiled against warm skin as he sucked and bit gently before running his tongue over the small marks he could feel on Jared’s skin. “Tell me what you want to do or try, babe. But I also need you to tell me if something I do bothers you so I can stop.”

It still made Jared blink in surprise that Jensen said it mattered what he wanted. He knew what happened with Welling couldn’t be anything to base sex with Jensen on, so he tried not to overthink those memories; which wasn’t hard since nothing Jensen was doing had ever been done to him before.

“I… I don’t know,” he finally said after Jensen whispered the question again while kissing along the shell of his ear. “Just… kiss me?”

“I can do that,” Jensen assured him with a slow smile and proceeded to kiss Jared slowly at first before he began to tease him with kisses that were both slow and sweet and then hotter and deeper until the younger man was both shivering with a need he didn’t understand and very close to whining with frustration. “I’m gonna lay you back, okay?”

Jared managed to nod and started to move back himself only to feel the fingers that had moved to the back of his neck squeeze just enough to tell him to follow Jensen’s lead.

He relaxed and felt Jensen lay him back on the bed. Then Jared’s mind began to fail him as Jensen stretched out next to him to begin to kiss him again. Jared found that he enjoyed kissing a lot more than he thought he would. This time, he felt the depth of Jensen’s kisses was slightly deeper but still didn’t fear or hesitate as he let his body begin to react on instinct, and the next time he felt just the lightest brush of a tongue licking over his lips Jared let them part in silent permission for Jensen’s tongue to slip inside.

Jensen took his time in letting both his hands and tongue explore. While he let Jared get used to feeling his tongue gently explore his mouth and slowly coaxed the boy into responding a little, his hands were gliding over Jared’s chest, down his stomach and back in a slow pattern that soon had Jared shuddering and moaning more into each kiss.

By this point, any leftover pain in his head or back was long forgotten as all Jensen wanted to do was show Jared this little bit of physical intimacy. They laid beside each other in the bed and took their time kissing, letting hands touch more than they’d ever done before, and soon Jensen felt Jared’s hips struggling not to move, to not rub against where his knee was placed close to where he could see the outline of Jared’s hardening cock through his jeans.

“Jensen…” Jared had bitten his lower lip so much as the feelings between his legs increased he tasted blood. He knew Jensen said this was normal, and guessed this might be what he’d seen happen on the videos a few times with those men, but it scared Jared because he had no idea how to handle the feelings or the urges this was giving him. “I… help me?”

The confusion was plain, but so was Jared’s naked fear of doing something improper. Jensen hadn’t planned to go this far right that moment but he knew it was too late to back off, so with a lot more patience than he expected to have considering his own cock was aching as it was trapped in denim, he moved closer to let his knee ease between Jared’s as he lay facing him.

“This isn’t how I planned for this to go but it looks like we both underestimated your body’s response to being touched.” Jensen sucked Jared’s bottom lip into his own mouth and heard the low moan of pleasure even though he knew Jared probably wasn’t aware of the sounds he was making. “Do you trust me, Jay?”

“Yes!” Jared thought that was a stupid question to ask right then, given his jeans now felt five sizes too small and he could see the hard outline of his penis as well as a damp spot forming at the head through the denim.

Of course he trusted Jensen. He loved him but then it sort of clicked why the man had asked him that and he swallowed while nodding as fingers that he noticed weren’t steady any longer reached to undo the button of his jeans.

Jared watched as Jensen slowly pulled the zipper down and then he instinctively lifted his hips to help get the now too tight jeans down his legs. It was only when the underwear was gone too that Jared had a brief moment of panic until a warm hand touched the center of his chest and he realized Jensen was talking to him.

“I know a piece of you still thinks in Puritan terms and I know you’ve probably never been naked, willingly, with another man before, but I promise I will not hurt you. I promise to make this good for you.” Jensen had felt Jared tense, had seen the beginning of the panic attack as too many emotions and probably fears flooded the young man’s mind, and had reacted in a way that he knew had calmed Jared down before when they’d been worried about him fading away. “You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of, Jay. You’re a gorgeous young man,” he moved his hand down Jared’s chest slowly. “I’m proud of you that you’re willing to trust me after everything you were put through by Welling back then. I love you and if you’re okay, I’ll show you how we’ll make love.”

Jared gave a blind nod and started to turn because the one thing he knew, the one thing that had been the same on those videos and the books, was that he knew he needed to be on his knees or stomach. Knowing this he frowned a little bit more when Jensen’s hand touched his hip as if to stall his movement. “Jensen?”

“Yeah, I’ll have you turn over in a minute so I can prep you, but first let me take care of you so you’ll be able to focus on enjoying making love.” Jensen figured his own cock was going to hate him by the time they got to the end of this, but the moment he’d seen Jared’s angry looking red and weeping cock once he’d removed the jeans and briefs, he knew Jared was too on edge from the unaccustomed feeling of needing to come. “I’m sure you’ve seen this on a few of those videos Chad shouldn’t have let you see.

“There are several ways for me to get you off or help you climax, and this is one of them,” he let his fingers wrap around Jared’s cock, making sure to keep his touch light for the moment until the shy younger man understood he wasn’t going to do anything but help him. “You can do this too but we’ll get to those lessons later. Right now, just watch me and let yourself enjoy the feelings, Jared. Trust me. It’s normal for you to feel these things.”

Jared could still recall the sermons and lectures from the Pastor but as he watched Jensen’s fingers begin a long, smooth, stroking of his cock; he reminded himself to let go of those memories. Those times and beliefs no longer held meaning and as he watched his own hips move up into the touch, he gasped at the feelings he could feel inside him with each movement up and down. But what sent him over after several moments of this was when Jensen’s finger on his other hand swiped over the leaking tip; the next thing Jared knew—and he swore he saw stars— he cried out as it seemed like his whole body exploded with feelings unlike any he’d ever experienced.

Jensen watched Jared’s face as he came. He had to swallow his own emotions as he took in the raw, open face of the man he loved experiencing his first real orgasm and loved that, despite his Puritan upbringing, Jared was open with him now and willing to trust him even though they hadn’t known one another all that long.

He felt his own cock tighten painfully where it was still trapped in his jeans as Jared’s body arched up as he continued to stroke his cock, helping to milk the climax for all it was worth so Jared could get the full effect and only easing his hand away when he sensed that the softening cock might be getting too sensitive to touch.

Jensen leaned up to kiss Jared gently, smiling into the kiss at the sound of pleasure he heard as Jared’s brain began to come back while his body settled. “Okay?” he asked with some concern since he wasn’t sure if Jared might be confused by what he’d just experienced.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Jared pried his eyes open to return the next kiss. “Will it always be that intense?” he asked with a faint blush to his cheeks. “It didn’t look like that on those videos.”

“Those guys are professionals, so half the time what people see on those things are screened and edited to get the best shots and performance,” Jensen replied with a smile and teased his lips down Jared’s throat to lick over the hollow of his throat and then up to right under his earlobe because he knew both spaces would make his boyfriend shiver with need. “Do you want to do more or are you wiped out from that?”

Jared was spent but as Jensen’s lips and fingers began to caress him again, he figured it wouldn’t be too long before he was awake fully. He also could tell Jensen’s need for relief hadn’t been eased as he saw the bulge of the now unsnapped jeans. “Make love to me, Jen?” he asked quietly, lashes dropping as it still made him feel uneasy to express such things to even the man he loved.

“With pleasure.” Jensen prayed he got through prepping Jared without coming in his jeans. He finally had to unsnap and unzip to relieve the pressure on his cock. “Can you roll over for me?” he asked while going in search of something in the bathroom since he hadn’t actually packed the bottle of lube he’d had in California because he figured he wouldn’t need it. Now he was kicking himself.

By the time Jensen found some lotion in a cabinet and stepped back into the bedroom he had to stop and just stare at the sight of Jared kneeling on the bed with his fingers gripping the metal headboard with a tight knuckled grip that told Jensen he was nervous.

“Jay, we don’t have to make love right now if you want to wait some more,” he said as he stepped back to the bed to run his fingers over tense shoulders. “I’m alright with you waiting until you’re more used to just us taking little steps to…”

“No. I’m tired of being scared. I’m tired of my memories of what was done to me back then and the things he said while he… hurt me. I don’t want that to keep me from letting you touch or love me.” Jared glanced back while forcing his fingers to relax a little as Jensen’s hand laid over his one hand. “Am I scared of the pain? Yeah. Am I scared of you? No. I love you Jensen. I want this to happen with you now… unless your head’s hurting and then I can… hmm” he moaned as he was kissed deeply.

“I love you too, Jared,” Jensen told him, getting on the bed to kneel behind Jared but kept one hand on a still tight shoulder until the young man got used to feeling a body behind him that wasn’t immediately shoving into him or hurting him. “This might feel a little odd, and once your body adjusts to us doing this more the prep shouldn’t take as long, but this time… I’m going to do my best to stretch you as much as I can so it won’t hurt as bad.”

Because Jared had already asked Jensen several questions about things he’d either read or seen, he understood what Jensen was talking about and nodded his understanding. It still bothered him a little to feel Jensen’s hard, lean body behind him but Jared quickly told himself he had nothing to fear, that Jensen wouldn’t hurt him and was trying to distract himself from his old memories or wondering what was happening when he felt something cold touch the crease of his ass and gasped.

“Sorry, sorry. I swear next time I’ll have something better than baby oil to use for lube.” Jensen had hoped holding the bottle in his hand while he’d been calming Jared down might warm it up some but guessed it hadn’t. He pressed quick kisses along Jared’s neck until he felt him start to relax and he slicked his fingers up before carefully running the tip of his index finger down the crease. “Just try to relax for me, sweetheart,” he urged as he lightly rubbed his finger around the rim of Jared’s hole to let him adjust to the new touch before finally letting the tip just slip past the rim and immediately went still. “Holy fuck.”

Jensen hadn’t considered when the spell removed Jared’s scars and as they’d been told ‘the taint of the witch’ what that also might mean. He didn’t until the tip of his finger slipped inside and he felt how tight Jared was. He figured it had been years, or several decades, since Jared had been touched by Welling physically, so he’d expected him to be tight, but this level of tightness rocked him as he suddenly knew the spell had very literally given Jared back something very precious.

“I wish that spell could remove your bad memories of the horrors he caused as it has your virginity it seems but I promise to make this good for you,” he murmured softly against Jared’s ear as he felt him shudder at the feeling of his fingertip just lightly brushing the very entrance of his ass. “If you get scared or if this hurts too bad, I want you to tell me. Okay?”

Jared nodded, turning his head to meet Jensen’s kiss and as the kiss deepened and heated he began to lose his fear of pain, he began to forget the memories of the dark times in the barn as Welling forced his cock into his ass without any care or patience. Soon the only thing Jared felt was Jensen’s warm breath on his neck as he kissed him while the fingers of his free hand touched and teased over his chest and his other finger slowly worked its way up inside a very tight channel.

“Jensen… oh my…” Jared bit his lip as he still felt odd saying the Lord’s name considering what they were doing. He’d lost track of time but did know Jensen had finally been able to slip two fingers up inside him because it amazed him to feel those two fingers scissoring inside his ass. What nearly had him jumping out of his skin and had his limp cock filling a lot more and quicker, was when those two fingers brushed something inside him and he jumped. “Fuck!”

“Yep and you have learned some interesting words while watching those videos or Elena rented to some very interesting people who taught you how to curse,” Jensen chuckled while fighting his own body’s needs to take the boy right then despite wanting to try to get him stretched a little more.

The deep, gravelly and husky voice should’ve scared Jared, since to him deep voices usually meant pain was coming, but the gentle touch and lips that moved over his neck and face told him that Jensen was calm but just on a sexual edge; an edge that Jared found he understood since he was getting more than ready to feel the man a lot more than he had so far.

“Jensen, please.” He knew he was whining, but his cock was filling again and when Jensen’s one finger had moved down to glide over his cock to gather some of the pearly precome on his fingertip to bring it up to Jared’s own lips to taste, the younger man knew he was lost. “I’m… okay or… stretched enough. Please just do something!”

“Bossy,” Jensen teased, but silently had to agree with Jared, and hope he was stretched enough that this wouldn’t hurt him. Jensen was walking a tightrope to not come in his jeans and figured he probably would the moment he was encased in the still tight heat that he felt flexing around his fingers. “You’re still tight, so this might hurt, Jay.”

“It won’t hurt more than what Welling did to me for two years, Jensen.” Jared wasn’t aware how tight his own voice had gotten from struggling to stay still, to not thrust back against Jensen’s fingers, but he was now feeling on edge again and wanted to feel Jensen’s cock in his ass before he climaxed again. “Please? I… I want to feel you, Jen. Now.”

Jensen groaned inwardly at the need he could hear in Jared’s voice. He gave another couple moves with his fingers before finally pulling out, catching a handful of Jared’s hair to bring his head back so their lips locked in a hot kiss. “This time will not take long, but I promise the next time will take us more time,” he said while sliding off the bed only long enough to shed his jeans and boxer briefs with a silent sigh of relief. “Jay, one more question... Since they weren’t invented back then I know Welling wouldn’t have used protection, but do you want me to?” he asked and then kicked himself because Jared wouldn’t understand what that was.

“Chad explained what condoms were when I asked him after reading about them in a book.” Jared glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Jensen fully naked and had a brief moment where his brain went to mush and his spit dried up. It never occurred to him to be embarrassed or nervous as he was too busy trying to look at the lean rangy body of the man who’d literally saved his life. “Umm…” he had to blink when he suddenly realized he was staring, and then he blushed. “You’re… hot.”

Jensen had been vowing to hurt Chad for not telling him Jared had been asking him stuff when he nearly tripped as he stepped back to the bed and heard those words. “You think I’m hot?” He’d never been called that before, even though Chris used to tell him he got stared at when they went out to bars Chris used to play in California.

Even though he’d worked hard to rid himself of his inner doubts brought on by years of his parents snidely putting him down or casting doubt on everything he did, his friends or lack of in some cases, Jensen just never saw himself as hot. In his mind’s eye he was a nerd, a geek basically, especially when he read because he had to wear his glasses. To Jensen, it was Jared who was the hot one; now especially so to hear Jared call him hot it threw him a little.

“Yeah… I’ve always thought you were hot… Well, I didn’t know that word but I thought you were so damn good looking from the first night I saw you downstairs.” Jared nodded and was confused to why Jensen looked so surprised. Then he thought of some of what he’d said about his past and life before moving to Massachusetts. “Can I tell you something else, Jensen?” he asked with a brighter tinge of pink crossing his cheeks.

“You can always tell me whatever is on your mind, Jay.” Jensen shook himself out of his shock to kneel back on the bed and was reaching for the bottle of oil. “What is it? And you never told me if you wanted me to use a condom or not?”

“No, I don’t want you to and… I think you’re really hot when you wear your glasses.” Jared dropped his head to bury it against the one arm he’d rested on the top of the headboard. “I’m sorry. I know that’s not something I should say when we’re about to…”

Warm lips kissing his cheek made him look up to see Jensen smiling at him. “I love you, Jared,” he said and kissed him warmly before pulling back to pour some oil in his hand to slick his already slick and aching for release cock up more to try to ensure as little pain for Jared as possible. “I will never stop loving you. Now just try to relax for me a little.”

Jared figured he knew what was coming, so he worked hard to control his breathing and not tense as he didn’t want to disappoint Jensen by freaking out. He knew this wouldn’t be like before, but it was hard for him not to flash on those horrible times until he felt the first touch of what he knew was the head of Jensen’s cock pressing against his ass… and then nothing else happened. “Jen?”

“I’m right here, sweetheart.” Jensen had stilled the moment he felt Jared tense. It wasn’t an easy task given his body was strung so tight, but he refused to just shove his cock in and find release; he was determined Jared would know pleasure. “Just give me a couple seconds to get control and then I’ll move a little more.”

Jared had seen some videos where one man went slow with his partner, but for the most part it was fast for both men. It took him some time to understand what was happening and then he felt his eyes burn with tears as it hit him that Jensen wasn’t just trying to take his own pleasure but he wanted to give it to him as well. Once he realized this he felt his body relax a little more and moaned with pleasure at the feel of Jensen’s cock slowly filling him. “Oh my God.”

Jensen heard the slip in words but didn’t comment. He was too busy reciting every psychological term he’d memorized in school to keep from losing the control he’d fought so long for.

Jared wasn’t stretched as much as he needed to be so Jensen feared the pain might be too much, but soon he realized any pain Jared felt was eclipsed by a pleasure so new to the young man that he was letting those feelings distract him from anything else.

A mixture of pleas, soft mutters of awe at what he was feeling, and then a few choice words – all of which reminded Jensen he needed to watch what the hell Jared watched or read until he got used to this time because the boy’s brain was a sponge for foul language it seemed as a few rattled off his tongue that Jensen didn’t think Chris had ever used—spilled from Jared’s lips.

“I’ve got you, Jay.” Jensen wrapped one arm around Jared’s chest to bring him back to him, just as he gave another solid thrust and both men let out moans as they went flush. Jensen felt Jared gasp as he felt Jensen’s cock hit that spot inside him that had made him see stars earlier. “Jared, I… I want to draw this out for you but…”

“I don’t want you to wait. I want to feel you and I want to feel you now!” Jared’s head dropped back to the strong shoulder that he knew would always be there for him no matter what they were doing. “Please Jensen, I… I need to…” he had to pause to think of the word he wanted since a lot of the sex stuff was still new to him and made him blush. “I need to come.”

Jensen heard the strain in the soft voice and knew Jared was probably as strung out as he was. He kissed his neck to calm him a little while moving a hand down to close his fingers around Jared’s hard again cock and let his hips begin to give shorter, quicker rolls, always making sure to hit Jared’s prostate with each thrust.

“Love you, Jared,” he said before catching Jared’s mouth in a hot kiss when he turned his face a little to meet his and then lost himself in the next few moments as he worked to give them both pleasure and satisfaction.

The next few moments were lost to the sounds of flesh on flesh, soft words shared between two men brought together by either luck or fate, until finally Jared lost the battle when a skilled finger trailed up the sensitive nerve on the underside of his cock and he came hard and with Jensen’s name spilling from his lips.

“Jensen!” He heard himself shout and then felt Jensen shudder behind him before he felt hot lips lock on his neck as Jensen groaned softly. Jared moaned at the feel of something hot filling him and knew with a shiver that Jensen’s own orgasm had hit him.

The former Puritan had a moment of bad memory but then pushed it aside, refusing to allow those memories to ever intrude again. Before, he’d been hurt and degraded by every act Welling had done, but Jensen made sure to give him pleasure and he knew, by the gentle way his fingers continued to stroke his slowly softening cock, that there’d never be pain or shame again.

Jensen had held back as long as he could. He wanted to make sure Jared enjoyed this moment but as he worked to gently milk Jared’s cock again, he suddenly felt the boy’s tight inner muscles suddenly clamp down on his cock and he lost it, coming hard inside Jared with a moan of want as he kissed Jared’s neck and moving along his jaw until he heard the whimper and knew to move his hand away.

He smiled as he heard Jared murmuring to him, letting his eyes close to try to clear them of the sudden emotions he felt building as he realized Jared was thanking him when Jensen knew it should be the other way around.

“Thank you for giving me this moment, Jared,” Jensen said in a voice raw, hushed with emotion and exhaustion now. He felt his own climax slowing down and was adjusting his grip on Jared when he caught a flash of white and swore under his breath when it seemed the force of two climaxes in such a short amount of time knocked Jared out for a bit and Jensen had to support them both as he worked through his orgasm.

Jensen held Jared back to him while he worked to adjust their positioning as he shifted them to their sides, lowering Jared to the bed and then settled behind him to allow his body to cool and catch his breath before having to pull out and clean them up a bit.

Laying still with Jared held back against his chest, he pressed his lips along Jared’s neck to gently kiss him. “I love you, Jared,” he whispered and offered a silent thank you for whatever had brought him to the decision to come to Massachusetts and Jared. “I will always take care of you and you will never know the pain you have. Sleep now. I think we both need it.”

Sleep was what Jensen’s body was suddenly craving as his head and back chose that moment to remind him he was still hurt. With a soft muttered curse he slowly eased out of Jared and immediately heard the soft sound of discontent from the young man that tried to turn to keep him by him even in sleep.

“Shhh, not leaving you, Jared. I’m just grabbing a rag to clean us up with and then some clothes so we can sleep,” Jensen reassured the half asleep but clingy Jared with a warm loving smile as he managed to grab a warm cloth to wipe them both down with and then pulled on a pair of sweats before trying to coax Jared’s long legs into a second pair.

Jared’s arms managed to catch Jensen, and with a laugh he went into them, feeling Jared calm the moment he wrapped him in his own arms. A peek of hazel finally was shown as Jared managed to open his eyes to offer a sleepy but happy and sexed out smile. “Hmm, liked that,” he mumbled. “Will we do that again?”

“Oh, yeah, I can pretty much promise we’ll be doing that a lot.” Jensen smiled, fingers brushing Jared’s hair back out of his eyes to meet a shy kiss. “First we’ll sleep, then… I’ll show you how to work that shower so I have an excuse for shower sex.”

“We can have sex in the shower?” Jared woke up a little more at that suggestion but laughed as gentle fingers teased up his side and Jensen’s low husky voice whispered just what else they could do later on. “I’m so glad you came here, Jensen. I’m glad you helped me and I’m glad I was able to stay with you,” he trailed his fingers down Jensen’s chest until they were caught and held.

“I’m glad of all of that too, Jared.” Jensen was and he made a note to send his former professor a huge thank you gift for giving him the tip of the haunting in Porterville. “I’m glad I came too. I’m glad I was able to help you and I am so damn glad you could stay with me too, babe. I’ll make sure you never regret it.”

Jared sighed happily while letting his head settle on Jensen’s chest to begin to fall to sleep. “I’d never regret it. I love you. Will you write about what happened here?” he asked sleepily.

“I’m not sure yet,” Jensen admitted while watching Jared slowly fall to sleep in his arms. He knew he could. He knew he could probably write a couple papers on the subject in one of the parapsychology journals, but Jensen wasn’t sure he wanted to share that much of Jared’s past with anyone. “We’ll talk about it later. For now, let’s sleep. We have all the time in the world to plan our future.”

Jensen wasn’t sure what that future would bring for either of them. He had no plans to go back to California or to the study of plain psychology. He enjoyed looking into ghosts, myths, and folklore, so he knew regardless of anything else he’d stay in this field, but he also wanted to show Jared some of the world as well.

They had much to talk about, including what Jared might want out of his second chance at life, and Jensen was determined to give his boyfriend whatever it was he might want out of it.

As Jared settled more into his arms and Jensen let his own eyes drift closed, he decided since they were both free of their pasts that they just had the future ahead of them and he looked forward to what that would bring.

**TBC**


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as this one comes to an end, I want to thank all those who read it, who enjoyed it and left reviews and kudos as they mean a lot even if I don't respond to every one of them. <3
> 
> Look for more J2 stuff and my other SPN stories to come soon.

**Breaking Free**

**Epilogue**

** Porterville, Massachusetts, 18 months later: **

Jared Padalecki walked the path through the woods with Odin at his side. This wasn’t the first time he’d faced his fear of the woods since that day happened, but it was his first time without Jensen. This time he’d decided to come alone and so had left his boyfriend of over a year to sleep.

The last 18 months had been filled with change, challenges, and setbacks, but also support, love, understanding, and encouragement for both of them.

Jared actually adjusted to the modern world a lot easier than Jensen and their small group of friends thought he would, but Jared thought that was because he’d spent so many years watching the people who would come and rent the house from Elena.

He understood a good many things and what he didn’t, he picked up quickly with only a few small times when something really scared him, such as the first time he and Jensen went to town and the amount of people in the small town made the younger man feel slightly claustrophobic.

Jared found the stares of people were much the same as they’d been in his old life, so he mainly stayed close to Jensen and tried to avoid speaking or meeting the eyes of anyone they met until they got to the bookstore where his focus was then locked on the massive array of books available.

Jared loved to read. He had ever since he’d been a small boy, but reading hadn’t always been very important then despite his parent’s insistence that all of their children learn to enjoy books. He loved that Jensen encouraged him to pick out some books and was happy when they left the small store with four large bags of various styles.

It took several weeks for them to work into a comfortable living arrangement since now they didn’t have to worry about Jared going away and Jensen wanted him to be fully at ease in the house. They talked about doing a slight remodel that would bring the old house a more modern feel inside but leave it with the charm it had been built with.

Jensen let Jared decide what he’d like to keep from the attic room or if he wanted to leave it untouched, and that took some thinking on as it was his father’s room and a piece of Jared was scared to change it. Then one night he dreamed of his father and took the colorfully dressed man’s advice that the only way he could fully embrace his future was to let go of the past. That next morning at breakfast he told Jensen of his dream and his decision.

“I’d like to keep the desk as it’s good and sturdy but maybe you could find a library or someplace to donate his medical books to?” Jared would go through the books and keep a few that were of history or science since he liked those subjects a lot. “It’s time to let go of my past and embrace the future with you… but… can we have a garden maybe?”

“Sweetheart, we can have anything you want,” Jensen said as he moved around the table to kiss Jared deeply. “I promised your parents to make you happy and I’ll keep that promise.”

And Jensen worked hard to keep that promise plus any other he made his boyfriend. The first was done the day Chris Kane arrived with a crew of men and some large machines to quickly and efficiently take the old barn down to haul it away in the truck that had also arrived. The old shed went too, and then the ground was dug to bring fresh dirt to the surface; dirt that the little old man who promised more hay once again cleansed and blessed before a smaller barn was built along with a good sized dog house. Then, a small addition to the house once Jensen and Jared figured out how to add on and not hurt the house’s layout too badly.

The addition would be used for Jensen’s equipment, as well as a small office if he chose to write a paper or a book or even do some online teaching as his old Professor JD Morgan suggested once he’d come to Porterville to visit Jensen and meet his former prize pupil’s new love interest.

If the name Jensen used when he introduced Jared to the friendly older man struck the Princeton scholar as odd, he didn’t let on; he just offered a dry smile when he was leaving and told Jensen he was glad he’d found something in Porterville that made him happy.

By the end of six months, the new barn was up, a new shed for tools Jensen swore they’d never use had been built, as well as the house addition, the doghouse for Odin and even a small greenhouse once Jared shyly admitted a fondness for growing plants and herbs.

It was during this time that Jensen did write a paper for a parapsychology journal. Not about his experience in Porterville but one on the basics of telling the truth between fake and real hauntings. He did use some of his evidence to support his claims and had mainly submitted it as a whim, so Jensen had been surprised when he’d gotten a phone call from the head of the magazine telling him they were publishing his piece and asked if he’d like to do some more work in the future to which Jensen said he’d consider it.

Jared found that he quickly grew more at ease with his new life and quickly wanted to be able to learn more. Between Jensen and Elena Porter, they helped him catch up so that he could take some online classes that allowed him to attain what Jensen explained was a GED or the equivalent of a High School diploma, which made Jared happy since he’d never gone past basic school before.

He became more comfortable with meeting people when they went to town and didn’t look away as often when someone spoke to him in the bookstore or the grocery store when he went with Jensen to shop for food. It had amazed Jared the first time he stepped through the automatic doors at all the different foods that were available these days.

Jensen had laughed as they bought things he knew would go to waste but wanted to let Jared learn what foods he liked and disliked on his own, surprised when the young man actually enjoyed a varying degree of cuisines and styles, but was glad when Jared shied away from raw seafood-- or any seafood in general as that was not a favorite of Jensen’s at all.

It was on the night of their first anniversary of meeting that Jensen was finally able to take Jared out to dinner at a fancy restaurant in Salem. He’d tried many times before but they usually ended up at pizza joints or burger places or Jared’s favorite a waffle house. That night he’d arranged for Odin to be cared for by Elena’s granddaughter while he took Jared out to dinner and then a romantic evening at a hotel in Salem.

Their lovemaking was never boring, even though Jensen learned early on that Jared had certain likes as well as a few dislikes that if not handled carefully still tended to trigger some of his darker memories that for the most part were locked away.

That night at the hotel he’d arranged for a romantic dinner and then they made slow love all night because he loved to see Jared’s smile as he kissed and made love to his body before making love to him.

They’d visited Chad while in Salem, explored the museum as well as other places that Jared recalled from his youth. Jensen was fascinated at seeing Salem from the eyes of Jared even though he was cautious to keep him away from anything too dark or negative.

“I knew most of these people,” Jared said when they visited a spot with the names of all the victims of the Witch Trials. “Sometimes I still don’t understand how even now people still hate and accuse others.”

“I don’t understand it either, Jay,” Jensen said in return and then took Jared home where they continued to live their lives happily.

Jensen worked on a few papers and articles for the journal, while Jared happily made them a garden outside to grow vegetables, plants and various herbs for cooking in the small greenhouse. They were both happy with how things were between them with the only serious problem coming the day Jared had been outside trying to explain why Jensen couldn’t just pick off things he thought was a weed in the garden, when a large shiny car pulled into the driveway and Jared felt his boyfriend’s whole demeanor change the second he saw the older couple step from the car.

“Go inside, Jay.” Jensen’s voice went hard and ice cold, a tone that Jared had never heard, not even when Jensen had been really angry over something. “You don’t want to be out here for this.”

Jared wasn’t sure who the older couple were but noticed their fancy clothes, which looked much more expensive and out of place for Porterville, as well as the familiar color of the man’s eyes and the shape of his jaw and he had an idea who they were. He also knew by the slight shake of Jensen’s hand when he touched his arm as if to urge him to go inside that he was fighting an inner struggle between anger and unease that his parents were intruding in their lives.

“I want to be with you,” he said in return and simply laced his fingers through Jensen’s and felt them squeezed in return as Jensen turned to confront his parents.

“Why are you here?” he demanded without bothering to beat around the bush or do the usual fake greetings that he’d been raised to give with his parents or their social group of friends. “You made your opinion of me and my choices plain when I left California, so why the hell are you here and how in the hell did you find out my address?”

Jensen had cut all ties with his parents shortly after moving. He’d stopped answering any phone calls, had changed his number, and had never given them the name of the town he was moving to or even an address. So he was very interested in how they’d learned both.

“A friend of your mother’s was leafing through some silly magazine in a spa one day and came across something with your name on it, so I pulled some strings with a friend in the attorney’s office where you deal, to learn where you moved since you neglected to pass that information on to your Mother or I.” Kyle Ackles replied with a shrug, smoothing a hand down the well fitted suit jacket as if dismayed that it seemed to be wrinkled while his wife sniffed at the smell of fresh tilled dirt, the gravel driveway, and the sound of Odin barking from the woods where he liked to run in the afternoon.

“Huh,” Jensen grunted and easily read between those lines. “In other words, you had one of your country club buddies threaten my lawyer with probably firing him or demoting him until he broke the privacy agreement to shell out my address because you wanted to come here and… what? Lecture me again for my choice to leave either teaching or practicing psychology? Or because something I wrote got put in a magazine where you might have to explain your gay son’s new field of study?”

“Your mother merely said you were going through a tough time over the breakup with your fiancée and that little article wouldn’t be repeated,” Kyle said with obvious disdain in his smooth tone while his eyes slid to where Jared stood beside Jensen and noticed their meshed fingers. “I see you still think you’re homosexual. Where did you find him at, Jensen?” he asked while looking at Jared as if he were less than the leather on his expensive shoes.

Jared fought back the instinctive need to cringe at the cold, dismissive voice, and to look away from the hard glare when he felt warm fingers tighten around his.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but his name is Jared and his family came from here originally.” Jensen had no plans to reveal the truth but he’d be damned if Jared would be treated like nothing. “He’s my boyfriend and before you or Mom make any snide comments or think of insulting him like you’re so good at, don’t.” He brought their joined hands up to press a kiss to Jared’s before whispering against his ear and taking a step toward his parents; making sure to stay between them and Jared.

“I tried to tell you both when I was a teenager that I was gay but you refused to listen. Everything I ever said to you was ignored unless it was something you could twist or try to use against me. Well, I’m not your doormat of a son anymore. I broke those ties when I broke that so-called engagement you set up for me without my approval or even knowledge.” He felt angry that not only had his parents broken the privacy agreement with his lawyer, but that they’d come to his home and were still trying to put down not only him but the man he was obviously involved with.

“I’m actually having several more articles published in that parapsychology journal and I’m looking into researching for an actual book on the local lore and legends in this area of Massachusetts that don’t involve the Trials. So you might as well disown me fully, because my name, Dr. Jensen R. Ackles, Ph.D, will be out there more and that won’t change because it might embarrass you with your ‘friends’.” Jensen stepped closer to meet the heated glare of his father while his mother simply stared at him as if shocked that he was actually daring to raise his voice to them.

“Ever since you learned that I was smart, that I could graduate early and breeze through college, all you saw was someone you could show off to your fancy friends, someone who you thought you could control, but you won’t control me anymore.” He shoved a hand against his father’s chest when the man reached out as if to hit him like he’d done infrequently while Jensen was growing up. “No, I’m done. I will live my life with Jared as I see fit. I will have a psychology practice in Massachusetts if I ever want one, or I might agree to teach a summer class in paranormal studies if I can convince Princeton there’s an interest in it.

“I will write books, I will learn how to tell the difference between a weed and a bloom, I will make love to Jared in the hammock I’m planning to figure out how to put up soon, and maybe even buy a couple of goddamn cows and chickens because some old man in town says we can’t live on what used to be a farm without actual farm animals!” Jensen thought he heard Jared choke back a laugh but was too locked on the shocked, furious faces of his parents to look back at his boyfriend. “I will be the first psychologist to hunt ghosts, write about them while being a farmer if I want to be! I will be what I want, I will be who Jared needs me to be, all while giving him everything I can, and I am done with you!” he shoved again but this time when his father’s hand raised it was his mother’s voice he heard.

“Kyle!” Gina Ackles was less than thrilled with her son’s recent decisions and had almost been convinced by her husband that coming here would make Jensen see how silly those decisions were. She’d shared her husband’s instant dislike of the tall, broad shouldered young man who had stood next to Jensen and who was still standing there, shifting as if wanting to step forward but unsure if he should, but it was when she saw his eyes when Kyle’s hand lifted that she’d seen enough. “That’s enough.”

Appalled by Jensen’s attitude, as well as the nerve to get in his face, Kyle was about to take his errant son in hand and remind him that even at 28 and with several degrees to his name, that he could still be slapped by his father. He was lifting his hand to do just that when Gina’s voice snapped out and he couldn’t help but stare at his wife as if all that dye she used to keep her hair blond had finally affected her thinking.

“You want your club and spa friends to know your only son is off in some Godforsaken hole in Massachusetts writing about nonsense and living in sin with some… man?” he demanded incredulously.

“Maybe not! But I also don’t want to end up losing my only son over bitterness and hate like your grandparents lost your uncle when they learned he was sleeping with one of their ranch hands.” Gina smiled as the look of shock both son and husband shot her way and she shrugged. “Your grandmother was very frank before we got married when she took me aside one day to tell me that your uncle, the black sheep of the family as she called him, had run off from the Ackles family with some cowboy. When Jensen was six, before she died, she told me not to be surprised if my boy took after his great-uncle, so I guess I’m not as surprised as a little ashamed of how we’ve used Jensen for our own purposes.

“Leave Jensen alone, let him have this life if he wants it. We took him out of normal because we thought to impress people with how our boy was so smart he could graduate Princeton much earlier than most students. He’s like your father, stubborn and driven, and all you’re going to do by pushing him is push him away, if we haven’t already.” She eyed her now wary son but noticed Jared had finally stepped up to rest a hand on Jensen’s shoulder, just as a huge white dog exited the woods to glare at them almost in warning not to hurt his owners.

Jensen wasn’t sure how to take this sudden change in attitude by his mother, much less her announcement about a great-uncle he didn’t even know he had. He’d been tricked and lied to too often to trust this change at face value, but would give it a chance to see if his mother was genuine or once again playing on his often too soft emotions.

He felt Jared’s hand on his shoulder and reached back to grasp it tightly while his father continued to glare before finally spinning on his heel to stalk back and jerk open the car door; an act that told him while his mother might be willing to give his new life a chance, it wouldn’t be that simple with his father. And that was fine with Jensen.

Once his parents were gone and it was just the two of them and a curious Odin staring down the driveway, Jared finally couldn’t take it any longer. “We’re getting a hammock and chickens?” he asked with his most innocent dimpled smile and laughed as Jensen merely turned to pull him into his arms and kiss him deeply.

“Yeah, I guess we are,” he said while deciding how to drop that on Chris that he’d have to build a chicken coop as well as help him purchase a hammock.

Now it was 18 months into their relationship and they’d just arrived back home after a week spent in Hawaii since Jensen had longed to show Jared the beaches there and where he used to dream of Jared before he knew he really existed.

Traveling still awed Jared because he’d never been away from Massachusetts before. He’d been too excited to be scared about flying on the huge aircraft that took them to the wonderful islands. Jared enjoyed every moment and made Jensen promise that they could return sometime to explore all the islands, learn about the culture, and visit everything that they hadn’t gotten to on that trip.

Jensen had fallen face first into bed and while Jared had dozed, he’d been excited for dawn to come so he could make this trip to the cemetery to visit his parents.

He paused at the small gate to tell Odin to wait for him before he stepped to the stones of his parents to smile as he ran his fingers over the new one Jensen had installed for his father as the other one had worn away from age and neglect. All of his family had been given new stones even if the bodies of his mother and sisters, all but Helena, had been left to rot in the bottom of the lake, or so the Pastor had cruelly told a grieving Jared.

Kneeling, Jared reached into the bag he carried to remove a bright and colorful Hawaiian lei and placed it over his father’s stone. “Hello, Father,” he greeted quietly while arranging the lei and then placing a lovely flower beside his mother’s stone. “Hello, Mother. Jensen and I just returned home from an amazing place called Hawaii. I think you’d like it there, father. It’s very… colorful.

“Jensen and I brought back flowers for mother and the girls, and we both thought you’d like this since Jensen said it matched that one shirt you wore that time.” Jared smiled as he finished placing the flowers by each of his sisters but avoided letting his eyes move to the one stone that had his name and date of birth but no death date as of yet. “I wanted to come this morning to tell you both how happy I am and to thank you both for not giving up on me or being disappointed that I was given this chance to be with Jensen.

“I love him Mother, Father. Jen is wonderful. He’s smart, and funny, and just a little shy at times too, but he’s going to help me go to college when I’m ready.” Jared was still wary of that but said he’d think about it. Right then he was happy to help Jensen with his work on looking into other hauntings or possible trapped ghosts like he’d been trapped and helpless. “Soon we’re getting a cow and her calf and some chickens. I made a garden to grow food and Jensen built… or he had his friend build a greenhouse so I could grow flowers and herbs like Mother grew. I’m so happy and so in love with him.”

Jared sat there for another half hour before he glanced up to see that the sun had risen higher and knew he should be getting back so Jensen wouldn’t wake up alone and get worried. “I’ll come back again. I hope you both are happy in Heaven and that you continue to watch over us but… maybe not come into the bedroom if you happen to visit,” he coughed and knew he was blushing as he heard a soft woof which told him that Odin agreed that they should head back. “I love you all. Thank you for helping Jensen save me. Goodbye.”

He wiped a hand over his face to feel the tears he hadn’t known he’d shed and blew out a breath to rid himself of anything negative as he walked back to the house.

Jared paused to peek into the barn at the small basket of puppies that Elena said Odin had discovered in the woods during the vacation and had basically adopted, and hoped Jensen would let him keep one… or three… of the six pups. He smiled happily as the huge dog left him to go curl up next to the basket.

He was just stepping out of the barn when Jared’s eyes went to the front door, and he felt that he was being watched even before he looked to see sleepy green eyes watching him as Jensen leaned in the door in only his jeans.

Something about seeing Jensen leaning casually in the door, chest and feet bare, his jeans zipped but unsnapped and his dark blond hair sticking up in spikes as it usually did when the man first woke up or he took a shower and ran his fingers through it, never failed to make Jared’s heart race. The slow sinful smile that he was given as their eyes met told him that while Jensen had been concerned, he’d already guessed where he’d been and was waiting for him to return.

“Hey.” The sleep roughened voice also told Jared that Jensen hadn’t been awake long and he smiled more as he crossed the yard to be pulled into the welcoming arms of his lover. “I woke up when I didn’t feel you with me.” He lightly nuzzled his cheek, still rough with five o’clock shadow, over Jared’s jaw because he’d learned his boyfriend enjoyed it. “It took me about five seconds to calm down and then I saw the bag with the flowers was gone so I guessed you’d gone to the cemetery. Are you okay?” Jensen still worried about Jared missing his family but felt the strong arms hug him tighter which told him that Jared was doing well after his visit.

“I told them how happy I was and how much I loved you,” Jared said and relaxed into the embrace, not even bothering to remind Jensen that they were standing in the doorway. “I told them how we’re going to have a cow and a calf and chickens and…”

“And?” Jensen might still be half asleep and suffering from jet-lag, but he was still with it enough to catch that word and immediately knew to be on guard because the last time Jared had used that tone, he’d nearly been talked into taking in a family of squirrels from a tree knocked down in a storm.

“And… maybe a puppy or three?” Jared asked hopefully. He knew once the puppies were bigger they couldn’t keep them all, but he’d already named three of them in the hopes that he could talk Jensen into keeping them.

Jensen chuckled as he let his lips slide up Jared’s throat to nibble on the sensitive skin right below his ear. “We’re keeping the pups, Jay. All of them. So you don’t have to worry about just naming three of the little furballs. You can name the rest if you haven’t already or… mmhm!”

Jared’s lips crashed down on his with a happy shout of joy and Jensen decided he’d better move this indoors before they did test out how strong that new hammock was.

“Thank you! Thank you!” Jared loved Jensen with all his heart but just the fact that he was willing to keep all the puppies told him how special the man he loved truly was, as he knew not everyone would have been happy to keep so many dogs. “I promise they’ll sleep in the new bigger doghouse we’ll need and…”

Jensen let Jared talk about bigger doghouses-- or maybe a doghouse for each puppy-- or maybe an add-on to the barn-- because he adored how lively Jared’s eyes got when he was happy and planning. Jensen, on the other hand, already suspected by the end of the month he’d be waking up one morning with all of the puppies in the house, especially if it stormed, but he would put his foot down about the Momma cow and her calf living inside the house.

“I love you, Jared,” he said once Jared had finally stopped to take a breath and kissed him deeply as they sank down on the old lumpy sofa that Jensen had kept, despite getting all new furnishings for the rest of the house. “Thank you for coming into my world.”

Jared’s cheeks went pink as he still blushed when Jensen looked at him with that much intensity. “You saved me, Jensen. I should be thanking you.”

“You have and you do. You thank me every single day that I wake up to your smile and your kisses.” Jensen settled on the sofa with Jared in his arms and decided breakfast could wait as he just liked these moments with the two of them on the sofa before anything else started in their day. “We helped each other break free of our pasts and now nothing can hold us back from whatever the future holds.”

Jared rested his head on Jensen’s shoulder and just relaxed. He let his eyes close to rest them for a bit longer and wondered what type of future did lie ahead for them.

**The End**


End file.
